i quilt my big quilts in sections, i lay out the top batting and bottom like i would as if i were going to do itall then i decide how big of a section i want to quilt at a time ( maybe divide it in fours or 3rds) and starting in the middle of the quilt i spray baste the section im doing first then the top of the quilt that i am not going to quilt yet i fold back and cut the batting number it as to where it will go back in later set it to the side then i dont have so much bulk to roll as i am quilting after doing the middle section i lay the quilt out put in the next sections batting spray it and quilt it then go on the the next section i find this a lot easier than trying to quilt the whole thing under my small sewing machine

I have just finished a very large quilt for my King size bed, I quilted the 12 large appliqued blocks then I stippled around the blocks and the sashing,leaving a small amount to add the outer edge parts, then I added the 20 inch drop all around the edge of the quilt,quilting and stippling , it was not that hard , I have an Aurora 440 machine , same size as my old 930 Bernina from many years ago, First I layed the backing out on the dining room table and pinned it together with the batting and the 12 blocks that had been sewn together, the batting was very thin, I think that is part of the answer to doing a large quilt on a regular sewing machine, I had the dining room table pulled up close to the machine to carry the bulk of the quilt as I quilted it ,(B.E.G.) My sewing machine is set up in a horne cabinet in the kitchen , it has a drop leaf along the back of the machine , so I pull it out from the wall and it gives me lots of support behind the machine ,No room to eat but who cares!!! I did roll the quilt and started the quilting in the center blocks from the center sashing out to the edge , then I quilted the blocks the same way . As I quilted the roll got smaller,After I quilted the center area I added the backing added batting sewing it to the other batting with a basting stitch to hold it together, then I added the top .The top and bottom edges were added with right sides facing each other for the first part, then I pinned them down and quilted all around the quilt , in the ditch for the borders, then finished up with stippling , then adding the binding.Planning on making a large wall hanging to go with it , Southwest with pots and beads, to hang over the head of the bed, So experiment and for petes sake have fun,

I haven't found a good explanation of how to do this on the web; the excellent book that explains it is packed away in a box and I can't remember the author's name.

Only the batting is divided into thirds; the top and backing are left entire. You layer the middle piece of the batting into your quilt as usual, and quilt that section first. This eliminates tons of bulk under the machine arm. Leave several inches on each side of that batting piece free of any quilting.

When done quilting the middle section, pin the top and backing fabrics back away from the batting edge on one side, and attach the side piece of batting to the middle piece of batting. Unpin, layer, and quilt that side section next. Do the other side section the same way.

You start with a large piece of batting cut to the right size for your quilt (with extra inches all around, of course). Instead of layering all 3 full-size pieces, at this point you take just that batting and cut it into 3 sections with a rotary cutter. Don't make this a straight cut; curve your cut back and forth about 6 inches so you end up wth a long, deeply curvy, wavy cut. Save the two side sections (mark each piece so you know which is right side up and top), and layer just the center piece to start quilting. It's a good idea to use a marker to make registration marks at a few points along the cut before separating the pieces, to make lining up these pieces easier later on.

When it comes time to attach a batting side to the center piece of batting, the curving lines will help you make an exact fit so you are re-creating the full size piece of batting exactly as it was. Some people will machine zigzag the two pieces of batting together at this point, but I think it is better to take the time to hand tailor-tack the pieces together. Sharon Schamber shows how to do this stitch in her youtube video on basting a quilt. Once the two pieces of batting fabric have been re-attached, you layer the top and backing fabric over it and proceed with machine quilting that side.

One of the reasons for making the deep curving lines for the cut, aside from matching the batting pieces perfectly, is that the finished quilt won't develop a line where the batting was connected -- from folding, or use. The slight weakness from the cut will be distributed across a wide area.

It's really hard to describe all this adequately in a post! Wish I could find a website with some photos of the process. I'm not sure why more domestic machine quilters don't use this method for large quilts. It reduces bulk when working on that middle section of the quilt, which makes for easier free motion quilting of that area. You don't have so much bulk under the arm of the machine, and you also don't have so much drag and weight to the left of where you are working. You can just roll up the top and backing on each side so it stays pretty much out of the way. And this method doesn't affect the finished appearance of the quilt the way quilt-as-you-go or quilting in 3 separate sections would do.

Thank-you, I understand this now. I'll try this on a twin size first before I try one of my larger projects. I'll make sure I do the curvy lines on the batting and tailor tack the areas for front and back. Thanks again for the help.

Prism...I'm sooo glad you posted what you do. The reason I've never tried it is because I'd never heard of it or thought of it! I think I'll try it on an upcoming project...it just might make my life lots easier! Thanks for posting it!

prism, I understand now. What a great idea. I'm going to try that on my next quilt. It should make quilting it much easier.

Wow! You just solved a major problem for me. Iam working on my 1st quilt that Iam keeping for myself. All the others have been for charity and tied not quilted on old fashion quilting frames. I can't affort $100+ to get mine professionally quilted and I just have a plain Jane regular sewing machine (short arm/reg). I was faced with doing the whole thing by hand on my old fashioned frame.
But now Iam going to do it you way! Thank you for explaining it so well.

I have quilted 4 quilts lately on my Bernina 200. With using basting spray and safety pins about every 4 inches , I haven't experienced any problems of shifting, etc.

I use the bicycle clips and roll half of it up and start in the middle and quilt to one end. So far, I have only done SID and quilting an "X" in squares. The largest I have quilted is 48"x68" for a charity quilt.

I'm glad that explanation was helpful! I see Penski uses a similar technique.

While I'm on a roll, thought I'd mention that batting has grainlines just like fabric. One grainline (crosswise) is stretchier than the other (lengthwise). It's best to layer your batting so that its lengthwise grain is running with the length of your quilt. It makes the quilt sandwich more stable. I think that tidbit of information was in both Harriet Hargrave's book and the book by the author whose name I can't remember (except that I remember that she worked in her parents' Bernina dealership, is colorblind, and won AQS a couple of years in a row for her machine quilted quilts).

I finally remembered the name of the author who described the technique in deail: Debra Wagner! Can't remember for sure which book it's in, though; I think it's her Traditional Quilts book:
http://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Qu.../dp/0801986605