Quilter cut off seam allowance. Please HELP!
 

Any ideas on how to bind a quilt without seam allowance? The quilt is a stripe, so it will be really obvious if I go into the quilt face -- although I can't think of any other way. And there's no batting to work with. I have a scant 1/8" most places but some places she cut right at the pattern's edge.

Oh my, no advice other than what you have already stated - going into the quilt face to stitch on the binding; but I do feel your frustration.

So sorry that happened. Unfortunately I can't think of any solution either other than to sew on the binding
with the narrowest seam allowance you can.

Welcome to the Board and sorry that happened to you.
Here is a link to the tut Tartan suggested http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutorials-f10/quick-machine-binding-flange-t77821.html

Picture would be helpful.

Without a picture, it seems to me one either *has* a seam allowance or one *doesn't*. I don't see how one can manufacture a seam allowance where there isn't one - I mean, you can't get something from nothing, right? Something has to "give'.......sounds like it'll have to be part of the quilt face in this case. I'm sorry for your trouble with it. :rolleyes:

Jan in VA

That really stinks! I am sorry this happened to you. I checked out the tutorial and am so glad that I did, it is really neat.

consider this. When looking at the whole quilt while it is being used to cuddle under or as a bed quilt laying on a bed. Will it really show as a flaw?

Can the outside blocks be removed and re made?

I would only think it would be a true problem if this were going to entered in a show.

Some times, what is done is done and we love our kids anyway. Hope a solution is found for your dilemma.
peace

EDIT: The flange idea is a good solution as it will cover part of the quilt block.

why in the world would the quilter trim it at all? That isn't supposed to be done. I do so wish you luck.

Look at it this way, if she cut it off, she may not notice if the binding is cutting the pattern short. But just to be safe, give her a call and explain the situation. There is very little you can do at this point.

What you can do is faux knife edge binding. It is a proffered method for wall hangings and art pieces if you do not want to do the tricky but wonderful knife edge binding. This is what you do. You make a narrow, folded binding, just like the regular binding but narrower, and you sew it to the front of your quilt as close to the edge as possible. You work on one side of the quilt at the time, staring in one corner and finishing in the other. When you are done sewing one side, you flip the binding to the back so none of it is visible in the front and you hand stitch it to the back. People say that It is not as strong as regular binding because the edge of the quilt which is exposed to wear and tear is part of your quilt top and not the binding. But seriously, how often have any of us seen a worn out binding in our lifetime? Good luck!

I WISH you had be able to post a picture!!!

I'm attaching pic here (i hope). I've stitched around the edge where the seam allowance should be. As you can see, there's NOTHING in the corner. The flange solution suggested earlier could work really well.

pic attempt #2

I don't think it would be noticeable on that quilt if you just did a normal binding. Really, I don't think it would look bad. Personally I'd be leery of using too narrow of a seam allowance to sew on the binding as there's more of a chance it would tear away from the quilt with washing and use.

Looks fine for a regular binding to me. I wouldn't have noticed a problem.

Looks fine for binding to me, also. I guess I don't see the problem.

I did have to replace worn binding once. My quilts get USED.

I also think a normal binding will be fine on this quilt. The fact that part of the outer edge of the blocks will be about 1/4" narrower than the other two rectangles in the block will never be noticed by anyone except you. Nice quilt!

I would just square the quilt up - looks like it needs it - and then attach a binding as usual. I thought you meant that you would be losing points or other important parts of a block, but with this design it really won't matter.

I agree with the others that it won't be very noticeable for this pattern to just do a regular binding, but I think I'd talk to the quilter first to make sure she agrees with your plan.

This is one reason as a long arm quilter i never trim a quilt unless the client gives specific instructions to do so and explains how she would like it done. If you use this quilter again be sure to specify your instructions about trimming. Lack of communication causes most problems. I'd rather call a client several times for clarfication than do the wrong thing.

No way around it, even to add anything you'll take up a seam allowance

I agree with other posters, with this design no-one will notice if you apply normal binding, after all no-one is going to be measuring your blocks will they? Once its bound it will look great, if it had been triangles or diamonds where you loose the points it would have been obvious, but with this design no-one will know the edge blocks are slightly narrowed.

I agree! It is a lovely quilt and a regular binding will be fine. I's also consider finding a new quilter.
Keep calm ad carry on!

I have replaced several double bindings that wore out. Not my idea of a fun job but my quilts get used heavily and that's what they are meant for. My son once brought me one that was so worn that you could see the batting through the top and asked if I could fix it...NO! Time for a new quilt!

Now that I see a picture of your quilt I can't see where just putting on a binding would be a problem. If it was cutting off points then it would be noticeable but with this pattern it won't make a difference. I usually use a 3/8" seam on my bindings and I would even do that here. If someone gets out a tape measure to measure the width of some of your strips then they need to get a life.

Go for it. Bind your quilt and enjoy it.

I'm not sure what this quilt is being used for? So I would talk to the person this quilt belongs to, are you doing this as a favor, getting paid, just helping out???? If it's a favor or your just helping out - just let the owner know what the problem is and suggest that they come over and see the problem first hand, that way they will see what goes into the work and they will never make this mistake again. And they can help solve the problem. You could use a serger to finish the edges, pick a color to help it look like binding. If your being paid, and you are unable to talk to this person about adding another boarder and batting. Good luck

Square it up and put a binding on it and stop fretting about it.

Hope she gave you a discount!

I agree with this answer. I never trim a quilt either unless the customer asks. Some do want it trimmed to the border, but others like 1/4" of batting extending past the border edge. Communication is the key.

I sew anything on all sorts of fabrics. Don't know how it happened but I love to sew. My sewing machines are much loved family members.

It is not unusual that I wind up doing something v-e-r-y, v-e-r-y close to a fabric edge. To lessen the chance of having my seam pull out, I put a strip of easily torn off paper (usually cut off the edge of the newspaper or the paper strip sold for electric calculators) under each fabric edge involved and run as wide a serpentine (emphasis on serpentine!) stitch as I can that will be as unnoticeable as possible. I use the shortest a stitch as I can get by with as close to the edge of each piece of involved fabric as I can. Please note that I do this for each edge of each piece of fabric for the repair, etc. that I am working with. I get a better result when I do it that way.

That sort of stitching will make those edges stronger. And if the fabric is as cheap and yucky as the stuff in the new rv, it is about the only way I have found to keep things from pulling out, other than a thin line of a fray stop liquid that will not wash out of the fabric and which has been run down the edges and and dried before I start to sew the final seam or before the serpentine stitches are sewn. (Blew a bottle on those dratted rv curtains.) Sometimes the serpentine stitches are going to be visible on the outside of the seam line. Matching thread diameter and color as well as is possible helps there.

My attitude is that there are good and sufficient reasons that the particular "heroic" effort was made to save/finish/fix the particular item and anyone noticing the repair needs to mentally congratulate the repairer, smile a lovely smile, and walk on.

Hope this helps. We are on your side.

Oh, one more thing. Hang a large note somewhere that you will avoid that quilter in the future and will make sure to gently insist that anyone doing any sort of future work on your quilts will contact you before they make any irreversible changes to your work. (Aside: I have discovered that making the person smile or laugh at this point of the conversation will ensure the "no irreversible changes" bit sticks.)

Sorry about the length. Hope my "thumb in the dike" ideas help.

P

It is a very happy quilt! Like others have said, I would not be concerned about putting a standard binding on it. Some of it will overlap the quilting, which provides a little extra support for the quilt stitches near the edges. I certainly understand your frustration about the quilt being trimmed. I think, in the end, very few people (if any at all) will notice the difference in proportion near the edges.

Cheers, K

I agree. Normal binding is fine

Normal binding should work and a new quilter in the future. I prefer the quilter not trim my quilts

I had sent out a quilt to be done, I hadn't used her before and didn't know much about how she did things. But I specifically asked her not to trim my quilt. She sad she always trims the quilts that is how her customers like it. When I got my quilt back she trimmed some edges so close , she cut off a lot of points. There was no fixing that . I will not use her again. I think your quilt will look fine if you just square up the sides.

Thats what I was thinking...but what do I know...yet lol

Your quilt is great! I completely get your frustration!!!! Grrrrrr... But I really think once the binding is on and you will love it again! :) Your combination of colors is great!!!! It reminds me of a happy summer day and pink lemon/limeade! :)

What are you binding it with? I think a really fun fabric may finish it perfectly.