Quilting: Inside to Outside, Or Outside to Inside?
 

Do you quilt from the inside to the outside, or from the outside toward the center? Why?

~ C

I start in the center and work my way out, generally speaking. I have started on the outside and worked my way in before, only to end up with a slightly baggy center because things shifted (or maybe stretched) slightly despite being glue-basted.

Plus the center is the hardest to reach, so I like to get that done first.

Start in the center. Any shifting will work its way to the edges. If you start on the outside you may end with too much or to little in the center

i agree with sewnoma

I'm on a marathon of watching various classes right now and one of the teachers suggested that you should quilt from the outside in. "Interesting," I thought, since I always go from the center out. She works on a grid, using SITD on the boarders first, then the rows of blocks, always working toward the center. She does spray baste and set it with the iron, so the sandwich is very secure. I haven't finished the video, but so far, it appears that she doesn't have any issues with is puddling up in teh center. The reasons she does this is 1) you don't have a lot of bulk in the harp of the machine until you get to the center. 2) You assured that your borders are nice and straight, with no wavy edges.

I haven't tried this method yet. I may try it on something small, like a pillow cover, or crib quilt and see how it works out.

~ Cindy

I usually start at one side and move vertically - seems to be easier on my old Kenmore that doesn't have a large harp, although I find myself quilting towards me on the first go-round and away from me on the second. Guess I'm just used to it.

I start in the center, go down to bottom. Start in the center again, go to the top. Again start in center go to right edge. Again start in center, go out to left side. Then I quilt each quarter, always quilting next to quilting.
After a couple hundred quilts it always works for me.

I remeber hearing Barbara Barber from Great Britain speak at a guild meeting once. She said she'd start in a lower corner, perhaps right side and work her way across. She said where will judges' eyes go? To the center, first but not probably to a lower corner. This stuck with me since it seemed so unconventional at the time and she had won ribbons at major shows.

When I plan to do my quilt on my DSM, I glue baste the quilt and let it dry completely. I learned from Cindy Needham (and other) to stabilize with STID. I do that from the center out horizontally and vertically. I do it with the 100% cotton thread I plan to use on the back in the bobbin and an appropriate color of Bottom Line on the top. This completes a grid quilt. There will not be any moving in the grids. Then, I quilt wherever I choose. If I have a difficult motif in multiple places, I can do all the hard stuff and then go to easier stuff. I have done this on small and king sized pieces and it works well for me.