Shifting layers when attaching binding....
 

Hi
Today my dd was attaching the binding to a quilt we tied. It is a 58" square and we used poly batting. We doubled the batting because it was a very thin batting and we wanted a puffier quilt. The problem we had is the backing was feeding faster than the top and by the time she got to a corner the top and backing did not match. She did use a walking foot so I am not sure why this happened. Our border will cover the batting that is exposed, but on at least one side of the backing it looks "pulled", if that makes sense. Can anyone give me some tips to prevent this on the next quilt that is waiting for binding and also has doubled batting? Could Elmer help us any? LOL!!! ( my dd is not yet convinced of using glue on her quilts, I am trying to convince her :))

Thanks for the help,
Jp

Maybe a line of quilting just inside where you apply the binding may help....sounds as if you got too much shifting in the layers. Alternatively, thread baste the dickens around the edges. You may have to slow down a bit too, sometimes speed can cause bunching. Glueing is great but you may need quite a lot for this application:)

I never thought about basting! Think I'll try that and save the glue.

Jp

One thing I do to forestall this kind of problem is mark the cutting line on the quilt (with a permanent Sharpie) instead of actually cutting the quilt. I use that line as my "virtual" edge when applying binding; this would also work if you want to apply a basting line around the quilt first. I cut the sandwich *after* the binding is applied (being very careful not to cut any of the binding at the corners!) This helps a lot because I am not struggling to keep an edge under control; I just match the cut edge of my binding to the "virtual" cut edge of the quilt. Cut edges are more easily stretched and distorted with sewing; this method keeps all layers completely under the presser foot and also completely covering the feed dogs.

Another thing that helps prevent the issue you had is to heavily starch the backing before layering the quilt. Starch stabilizes fabric so that it is much less likely to stretch and distort while sewing. I use a large wall-painting brush to apply a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water (this is a very heavy starch solution) to the backing, wait a couple of minutes to make sure it has saturated the fabric fibers, toss in the dryer, then iron with steam. I haven't tried this with a tied quilt, but I don't think it would interfere with the tying process.

Yet another thing you could do with a tied sandwich is use Elmer's washable glue to glue the entire edge down before sewing on the binding. That would be fairly time-consuming, though. Basting spray would be faster but much messier, although there is a newer web-like basting spray that might work.

I always machine baste around the quilt (1/4") and then pin the binding on all the way around the quilt. Learned the hard way ;-)

After I have finished quilting, I check to see if the edges are straight and corners square. I then run a zigzag around the outer edge. This stops any shifting and makes it an easier job for me to start attaching binding. I have had things shift and found this helps.

I always do a line of machine stitching 1/4" from the edge through all layers using a large stitch and walking foot. And then before applying the binding I recheck the squareness of the corners and trim if necessary.

Have you already trimmed off your batting and backing?

I used to trim all 3 layers of my quilt to be the same before adding my binding. It was so frustrating to finish and flip over the quilt to find all those places where the backing or batting (or both) had shifted or folded over. I got tired of using a seam ripper to fix all this stuff. Then, I started to leave all 3 layers of my quilt un-trimmed until AFTER adding the binding. I like to be able to see all 3 layers of my quilt as I add the binding. No more ripping out seams on my binding.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I think every one of them is helpful. Today should go much better as we do the next quilt.

Jp

yes, but she is using polyester batting, two layers. I've not tired it, but could she spray baste the batting together first?