Quilting top of bed cover
 

Quilting top of bed cover

Hi
I've jumped in straight away to ask a question before introducing myself but I promise to do that later :)

I have a patchwork cover which I made a few years ago for my king size bed, which I would love to finally finish.
It’s large, measuring 54x 53 inches (274.32 x 269.24cm)
The drop from the top of bed to the floor is 23 inches.

It has been designed with a border which goes around the top edges of the bed similar to a picture frame.
I’m thinking of using wadding on the top only, which will enable the sides to flow gently downwards .
(Backing fabric will be used to fit the full size of bed cover so all will be lined)

Has anyone done a quilt this way before?
Do you think it will work?

Welcome from Texas. You've come to the right place for answers to any of your quilting questions. I've never done a quilt like that before so don't know what to say to help you but I'm sure someone will come along with answers/suggestions/solutions to your question. I've been working on a quilt for our Calif. King bed but mine will drape over the mattress & have borders beyond that. I'm going to finish the blocks using the Quilt As You Go method so I won't have the entire quilt to quilt all at the same time.
By the way....we love pictures here. :)

Hi and welcome to the board!

I have never tried this and I think it could work, but I would be concerned that the areas of the quilt that have no batting (wadding) may shrink differently then the rest of the quilt and will most likely wrinkle horribly in the wash. The wrinkling can be ironed out, the uneven shrinkage, not so much. I think I would do a mock up on a much smaller scale, like say placemat size or table topper size and see how it works.


The other consideration is how you would finish the piece. Obviously you would need to quilt and sew to completely encase the batting but such a thin edge where you don't have any batting, may not work so well for a traditional finish of a quilt with binding. You may have to do a knife edge finish. Again, you won't know until you try it so another good reason for a much smaller scale mock up.

So if I'm understanding, you are only going to use the batting on the "bed" of the quilt, and leave the sides without any?

That sort of thing can be done/used to be done more often than now. You'd basically just attach a skirt to the completed top. I'd want to gather it (at least 2 times the length) and not depend on just falling gently, but your way will also work.

Typically for a king sized quilt I go for roughly 3 yards square, so 108x108". I use batting the full width, sure it may be a bit stiff at first but it softens. Also I wouldn't use any thicker than warm and natural, or a medium/thin poly batt if drape is what you want.

Edit:
Also, in your construction method using one back you should stabilize/quilt the sides at least lightly. Just channels going down every couple of inches would work, otherwise it will probably be a small nightmare after washing.

Welcome to the QB!
I have never seen this before either, but if I were to try it I think I would gather or pleat the areas with no quilting so it looks less like a flat sheet.

This is what I would suggest also. Many years ago my Mother in law had a store bought bedspread that was made like above. It looked very nice and the sides hung very nicely. The sides were just a single thickness of fabric.

Welcome from Missouri.

We had those bedspreads growing up too, Jingle. I remember I had a lovely pink one made out of a shiny polyester. It was pretty.

I had one growing up too. the quilted top was the size of the mattress, with a cording edge and the sides were the same fabric but gathered (about 2 x). I bought mine with s & h green stamps. lol

Yes, I think it will work fine. You just need to think through what to do first. :-)

Like some other comments, I had a similar item when young. We called it a bedspread. The quilted, thicker part, lay just over the top of the bed, while there were two sides, and a foot end that fell down nearly to the floor. The head of the bedspread just covered the mattress at the head, and the bedspread there was covered over with the pillows, which laid next to the wooden headboard of the bed. Quite often these bedspreads were used on beds that didn't have a footboard (called Hollywood beds). My bed did have a footboard, but it had room between the mattress and the footboard that allowed a place for the bedspread to drape down. Mine was not gathered, and the sides and foot that dropped to the floor were not lined. The single thickness of fabric was a heavier weight though than quilting cotton, something more like a textured linen.

Actually, you can find antique quilts made in this manner-- the main part that fits the top of the bed, with three rectangles attached around the outer edge for the drop over the bed to the floor.

You could box the corners, like making a huge tote bag corner, by sewing diagonally.

I don't see a problem with putting wadding just in one area, so long as the edge where it is enclosed is secure, to stop the wadding from moving out. If your sides that drop down are lined, it seems that would be fine. I've made plenty of baby blankets (often named a 'receiving blanket') that are light weight with only a pieced top and a cotton or flannel back, and I imagine your sides that drop down would be similar. If you prewash/shrink your all your fabrics, I think you may have a better overall success with your idea. I'd suggest prewashing/shrinking your wadding as well.

Best wishes for a fun time on Quilting Board! :-)

I have wondered about this but never saw anything written about it. Youngatheart, please keep us updated as to what you have done and did it work. Very interesting.