Squaring Up When It Counts
 

I'm curious...for those of you that compete in your local fairs and quilt shows...how much extra care do you take to square up, make sure the points match, etc? I'm considering entering the local quilt competition at our county fair in 2021. I need to start now, if I have any chance of finishing on time. What steps do you take to make sure that your quilt is square?

How about how your points match up? Is perfection a must? How do you square up an entire quilt without lopping off the points?

For squaring up: Do you square up each block? Each row? A groups of blocks? The entire quilt? How important is it to the judge that your quilt is perfectly square?

How about how perfectly points meet up? Does it have to be absolutely perfect? If so, how do you get to perfection?

Inquiring minds want to know.

~ C

Personally, a always square each block as I make it. Here in Kansas, it all depends on the Judge at the county fair. This year I am not entering anything due to Covid 19. I think it is foolish to even have the county fairs this year. Try your hardest and hope that when your quilt is judged, that comments are written on the back of the entry form. That is how it is done here anyhow. Good luck for next year. One year I got best of show in 2 counties and did not even get a ribbon is the 3rd county all on the same quilt. Here in our area of Kansas, it is not at all unusual to enter in your surrounding counties as well as the county where you live.

Best in Show? Twice!?! Wow! Congrats!

I agree with the covid-19 thing. I'm optimistic that next year will be better, so I'm planning for going all out next year.

~ C

Sometimes I think it’s all about the way you were taught to do things. I was taught from the beginning to square up each block as I made it. Currently I am making a quilt of stars and if I am losing my points I will either take it apart or redo it so that they look crisp. I know for the most part that the judges make the decision. Generally when you apply you get the rules of what they are looking for and what is expected. Get in the habit of doing it all as if it were going to be judged and you will do fine. Good luck!

I was told one time that the way to learn about the judging of a quilt, was to volunteer to work with a judge at your local guild's show. Whether or not this is possible, I don't really know. Might be fun to ask your program chair if they could have someone give a talk on what the judges look for in judging a quilt.

Since I believe in Mr. Google, I thought I would see if there was anything out there for the Standard for judging quilts. There are lots. This is the first one I opened. https://4h.unl.edu/documents/06Quilt...%20judging.pdf

I don't enter shows at all. But as Tartan said, I do my best on each quilt I make. I square up each unit as I build each block. As such, I've never needed to square up an entire quilt.

A lot depends on who is doing the judging. At our smaller county fair, the judge is not a certified quilt judge, and just about everyone gets a blue ribbon. At our quilt show and our state fair, however, we have a certified judge, and they look at everything: the joins on the binding, the points in the blocks, the quality of the quilting (and our last judge said custom quilting is the way to go - edge-to-edge has its merits for certain quilts, but you don't get as many points as you would for custom), etc. I don't know how much they look at how square the final product is, but if it isn't somewhat square, it will be noticeable and you would likely "lose" points for that. So, just take your time, make each block as square as possible, and - in short - do the very best you can. Even if you don't win a top prize, hopefully the critique of the quilt will be helpful for the next time.

The little details add up across the span of a whole quilt. Check the unit size and the finished block size. It's easy to correct and re-do if needed.

I like to sew 4 finished blocks together and square those as needed to make the quilt. I seldom sew rows of blocks together in long strips. Really important blocks are stay-stitched and then pressed to keep the shape. Stay-stitch around the quilt and all the borders before sewing the borders on. Press again after stay-stitching.

Can you tell that I'm a fan of stay-stitching? Check the edge of a strip of fabric without it. Stay-stitch and press the edges, See how they are flat and smooth?

I haven't entered any shows so I don't know show standards but here are a few tips for the final square-up after quilting.

Check the border area to make sure it is still the correct size. Dampen with a light spray and block to the size needed. I use two large rulers plus the 24x6 rulers to check corners and edges first. There are metal 48 inch rulers for about $8 at the hardware store. These make great helpers too.

I like to cut down the quilt about an inch larger than needed first. Then go back for the final check and cut. It's easier to manage without the excess batting and fabrics. Good luck with your quilt and the show.

I square my blocks, square as I construct. Nothing is Perfect! We’ve been shown the Beauty of Imperfection by looking at nature where every flower or leaf is different.
judges do look at workmanship and want things done as well as you are capable of. The quilts I’ve had appraised and judged have never been ( Perfect- there is no such thing) but they have hung straight, the sides, top & bottom have been straight and measure evenly, judges look at mitered corners, make sure mitered binding is stitched closed, quilting can make small imperfections disappear, quilting should enhance the quilt and be balanced. The overall appearance when you step back and look makes the biggest impression.

i haven't yet made a quilt i think should be entered into a professionally judged show.
but, i try to treat every project as though that was the goal.

it's up to each quilter to decide on her/his standards.
but we can't grow as quilters if we are content with sloppy results.

i measure and square as i go and then square up all the blocks at the end.
i allow myself to get away with floating points, but i will not settle for points that are cut off.
if i can't get that patch right, it goes into the trash and i start over.

mistakes should be fixed.
imperfections should be accepted.

i firmly believe there is a difference.

I don't show my quilts in judged contests, they are use quilts and I have different design constraints -- the biggest is that they will be machine washed. I believe I have the ability to make show quilts, and that is working at my highest level of skill at each and every step. While I flout the quilt police with my open seams and in some other ways, I decided on thing I could do is put on a nice French double fold mitered corner correct for show binding and I do this on all my quilts, including donation baby quilts. I've gotten quite good at it and that final invisible seam. Most times I'm using bias, but even if I'm straight grain I'm still doing the mitered corners/invisible seam.

Yes, things like seams meeting and points being pointy are important, each and every time. When we have the basics and are precise on each seam there is very little need to trim up, they are just threads/precision.

Your overall design sense and fabric selection also make a huge difference. Two people can use the same pattern to make very different quilts. Workmanship can be stellar but the quilt blah. Some workmanship issues might not be noticed if the fabric is there to wow you.

I don't stay-stitch...hummm...good suggestion! I'm guessing that it really helps to keep things from moving around and stretching out. Do you stay-stitch a 3/16"?

Sewing 4 blocks together, then squaring those is also an interesting idea. I suppose that helps to keep your seams lined up perfectly too.

What about choosing a pattern? Do you go for an ornate, difficult pattern, or do you pick something more straight forward and go for perfection?

Thanks everyone for all of the suggestions. I'm not that competitive in spirit, but I do like to compete against myself, so I may go for the, "blue," next year and see what happens. I can only learn something.


~ C

i try to make at least one complex quilt a year.
i get so bored with simple quilts but i give nearly everything i make to one cause or another so quick is good.

i aspire to perfection no matter how complex or simple the pattern.
that way i stand a snowball's chance in you-know-where of at least achieving excellence.
or something close to it.

(trust me - i have made more than one stinker along the years. there are happy rats in the landfill and cozy pets in area shelters. lol)

I also learned to check the templates/rulers to see if they are accurate.

Once in a while, they are off.

Something else to consider would be to get in contact with the judges and ask them what their preferences are and take meticulous notes. Some prefer the binding to be super small, others have no problem with 2-inch binding. Some say custom quilting is the way to go, someone else may say that edge-to-edge is the best. Some say floating points are okay, others will frown and walk to the next quilt if they even see one single thread from your background above the point and sure as the day is long, a cut-off point will get the frown, too.

You have to keep in mind that these judges are quilters themselves, they've been in your shoes, so by contacting and talking to them, you're tapping into a major source of knowledge and wisdom. Our judges are locals that help run the fall fair we have, so I know them personally and would have no issue going up to them and striking up a conversation about quilts. I'm still incredibly nervous about entering a quilt for next year because they are extremely exacting with their judging, I've seen them pick apart a Storm at Sea that was absolutely exquisite to a normal person's eye, but there were a few tiny issues and the quilt didn't even place when they were done. She did get Best in Show in another county north of us, however.

The other option is to get in touch with a quilter that's put a quilt into that specific show. Any amount of knowledge from either the judges or other quilters will be invaluable later down the line.

There are county fairs going on this year? Wow.
Anyway, good luck.

No...I'm certain that our local fair is cancelled this year. I'm just asking so that I can start a project possibly for next year....or the year after that. I move slow. :)

Normally, I just make quilts for my home and my kids. I do try my best to make sure that points are perfect and blocks are square, within reason. However, I don't go ripping apart my every day projects just for the sake of perfection.

After reading all of your comments, if I were in a competition, I probably would rip things apart, if they were not absolutely perfect. I'm not sure if I'm up to that level yet...food for thought. Thanks for all of your helpful suggestions.

~ C

No clue yet if ours is cancelled, they should, in my opinion but we're coming down to the wire, ours is the third weekend of September.
Also, that's why I love this forum so much, such a great well of knowledge and wisdom you can always count on! https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/heart.gif

I don't blame you about not entering this year. Congrats on your 2 Best of Show wins! I agree that it depends on the judge. I used to show horses and show cars now. It always depends on the judge. They do their best of make judging objective but end of the day, it comes down to the individual judge's opinion.

I stay-stitch with 2.0 length along the inside of a 1/4 inch seam. It would probably be very close to 3/16" seam.

For the local fair it depends on the judges. Most are older and set in their ways about what a quilt should look like. No matter how well made example: if the binding isn't mitered it's counted against the quilter, one beautiful machine quilted quilt loses to the not so perfect quilt that was hand quilted. I have won two Viewer's Choice in local quilt shows and the quilts were not that well made compared to the others. The colors and patterns of the the quits caught the viewer's eye. Quilt show judges are usually fair and the best quilts do win ribbons. Enter quilts and get the feedback but do not get discouraged with what anyone says about your quilt. If I listened to others when they knew I was entering the quilt that won Viewer's Choice that quilt would have been in the dog's bed. LOL. I thought to my self, I like it so why not enter. I didn't get a judge's ribbon but I got the best one!

I was thinking about this some more yesterday, and wanted to say that if I wanted to make an award winning quilt, I'd be hiring someone with much better quilting design sense and skills than I have to finish my pieced top. My typical response to my finished project is "another adequate project ruined by mediocre quilting". I think most judges would agree. I just don't get the art aspects of the quilting. I can be functional with a pattern, but I don't really enhance my tops I just put them together.

I do grade/evaluate my projects with a pretty harsh list of judging criteria with 10 points possible in certain areas. Workmanship I always expect to be sufficiently high, that's the pointy points, the matching seams, and the good solid seam allowances, cutting, all the things that go into workmanship. At this stage in my quilting career, nothing should ever get out of the house under 7-8 points even if I wasn't wearing my contacts and was practicing a new technique...

My key concern is "how closely does this match my mental image". Sometimes that is a lot closer than others. Some quilts that may be rather taste-specific and harder to love than others but come out exactly as I had thought... My "Wonky Bright" project came from a bag of thrift store scraps and from the interactions I have of a very improvisational quilter. I get a 10 out of 10 in this category for that project, even though that may not be apparent to others. (That one also got a 10 out of 10 for workmanship, it was all straight lines cutting and sewing, it was very simple.)
https://www.quiltingboard.com/member...16-621721.html

The other thing to consider is that award winning quilts can be, but very often are not, "one and done". Just like painters may make many canvasses before getting the known one, or that a fashion photographer can take hundreds/thousands of shots even for that one cover shot. I know for me, each time I make a quilt I learn ways to make that quilt better, even if it is my 20th log cabin, if I had done this or that, the end project would be better. I try to remember the improvements, but mostly I want to move on to my next project before completely perfecting the last project. Award winning quilters take the time to redo, whether that is one sub-unit piece or an entire top.

Recently I decided (because I have some Lone Star variations coming up on my to-do list) that I wanted to do some practice in setting in corners. For me that means making a donation baby quilt out of test blocks, so I put together a few LeMoyne Stars, got my practice in, and feel more confident that I will do a good job when it is for a keeper project.

IceBlossom, you make some good points. (Pun intended.) :) It might be good to keep a notebook on how to improve each quilting skill as you quilt along. Personally, I conveniently tend to forget my mistakes. Making donation baby quilts for practicing is a good idea. I suppose that would hold true for mug rugs, pot holders and other small, Christmas gift projects.

~ C

2.0 length? what is that equivalent to in inches? Is that a basting stitch?

~ C

Most machines have the 2 setting for length. It's what I use.

I once made a hand sewn, hand quilted intricate quilt. Perfect points, etc. I got several best in show ribbons and was very proud. Then I entered it in the state quilt show. It didn't even get an honorable mention -- it was 1/2 inch out of square on one corner!!! I still entered in county fairs but never again in a state show. I make my quilts to please me

Mim

To me squaring up as I go is one of the most important parts of making any quilt. Second only to pressing each seam as I go. I for on am challenged on making exact and straight seams so I need to press and square up each section of every block to make the perfect block I then again check the blocks to be sure each one is square before sewing them together. At the last seams I then square up the sides again to insure things are correct. I can still come off a bit and be out of square but then square things up at the end with a bit of stretching here and there..