quilt panel not square
 

Help, I am working on a quilt using a panel. There is a design and then 2 borders already on the panel. I folded the panel 1/2 and used pins to match up the first border to see if it was going to be square... It's not!! I took it to the ironing board and tried to steam it enough to pull and stretch it into shape... it didn't work. I sure would appreciate any and all suggestions on what to do. Thank y'all!!!

I buy very few panels. Let them keep them.

some quilters cut their panels into sections. different widths and add "sashing" to put them together again. changes the look but not bad! find some of them online and see if you like the look.

take hold of it, dry, and pull it by the opposite diagonal corners into straight of grain like I learned in 7th grade Home Ec. Hopefully it's not printed so off grain that it just doesn't work. But should help.

If it is printed off- grain, it is off- grain.

I wouls go with tartans suggestions.

I love making quilts with panels, but the drawback is you always lose some of the edges, because you always need to square up. I really hated cutting away a border more than once, but it couldn’t be avoided. I have made a lot of QOV panels and also deer hunting panels. Look in my albums if you’d like to see. Some of my pictures in my albums look blank ( I don’t know why) but if you click on the blank ‘photo’ in the albums it will show up. All my baby clothing photos in that album look blank but I just clicked on the picture square and it shows up.

This works. Ask me how I know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGE2B5jcsms

Thank you for the link to youtube, that was a really good video, very helpful

Grey Lady...thanks for the link. Like quiltingshorttimer, I learned to "tenter" fabric when I was in 7th grade Home Ec. From my experience with cutting panels at the LQS, the off grain is most often not a printing issue, but a rolling onto the bolt issue.

If your wide backing is off. Tear the cut end selvage to selvage if your shop hasn't already done so. Pin to your long arm at the top and bottom. As it gets rolled onto the rolls it will gradually tenter itself. A sprtiz of water on the fabric will help as well.