Start in the middle or the side?
 

I've posted on this quilt top and this question, but did not get an answer to this question.

This top is a little stretched out of shape, probably because I IRONED it instead of pressing it. The charms are a little "poufy", as is some of the sashing.

I am going to quilt it using a walking foot and wavy lines. It will be my first quilting job. The Craftsy classes I watched Monday said to start on the side when you use this method. Someone suggested I start in the center, which is totally doable. I'll just have to bury a lot of threads if I start in the middle.

If I start in the center, do you then do all the lines from the center out? Or, do you just stabilize it from the center out and then do the rest from the edge in? If I work from the edge in, do I alternate directions or do all the seams go in one direction?

(I'm using a gray 30 wt. thread that may hide some of my mistakes.)

bkay

Obviously, I'm going to do all the lines, but I did not draw all the lines.

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If you spray baste or glue baste all your layers it doesn't really matter
where you start.

Start from the center point on one side stitching top to bottom. Not center center. Then work towards the right edge. Turn your quilt and work from center toward the other edge. This makes it more manageable fitting it under the throat of your machine

Edge to edge, but start in the middle of the edge. This kind of quilt design does not require starting in the center and burying threads.

This is what I do as well. As far as spray basting I go center out all along the quilt - backing to batting then batting to quilt top. Just found that working center out whether stitching or layering works best for me.

As far as your poofy blocks and sashing have you tired steam 'pressing' :) it. Sometimes it helps mine. Love your colors and the quilt design is great. Good luck and have fun!

I quilt like this a lot. I do my first wavy line in the middle, but start at the top and stitch to the bottom, edge to edge. Then I work out from there, alternating right and left of the center until I get to the outer edges. I usually only do vertical lines, but if you wNt to add the horizontal ones, I would do it the same---do your first line across the middle, edge to edge, then add the others. Nothing should shift due to all the vertical lines. The risk is puckering when you do the horizontal lines, so just try to ease the fabric as you go.

So, you don't have to do horizontal lines?

bkay

I also quilt as your design, bkay. I do top to bottom first, starting in the midline I do several lines either side of the first line, alternating the direction ( up/down, down/up, up/down) and then I do horizontal lines in a similar fashion. Sometimes the lines are straight (either side of each block/square), sometimes a serpentine line over each 'join'.

What kind of batting are you using? Although technically horizontal lines would be better, honestly you do not need them if you are using a batting such as Warm and Natural which is needlepunched through scrim. It is very stable. Other battings may also be okay without horizontal lines, especially if the quilt is not going to be machine washed a lot, and especially if your quilting lines are fairly close together.

Have you sandwiched the quilt yet? If not, I would recommend heavily starching the backing and top before layering. Starch stabilizes the fabrics so they do not stretch and distort while machine quilting. Spray basting is best for machine quilting because it connects all 3 layers continuously, plus there are no pins to get in your way. Glue basting is a close second. Thread basting is for hand quilting, not so much for machine quilting. Starch and spray basting work to stabilize the fabric and keep it from stretching.

I mention all this because, if you want to do horizontal lines as well as vertical lines, starching and spray basting will help prevent puckers. Without this prep, it is difficult not to get a pucker on the top or backing or both when crossing a previous line of quilting. This is because the presser foot tends to stretch and push the fabric ahead of it; when you get to the previous line of quilting, there is no place for the excess fabric to go, creating a pucker.

I'm using warm and natural needled cotton batting. I'm just now making the backing. This is the crib size, so it doesn't say how many inches, but the full size one I have says 10". I planned to spray baste it.

How do you starch heavily and not stretch it when you iron it? I think that's what got me into this mess with the stretched fabric and "poufy" chams. You are talking about spray starch, aren't you?

bkay

Yes, you would use spray starch for the quilt top.

For the backing, however, what I do is mix a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water, "paint" this onto the backing fabric with a cheap, large painter's brush, allow a couple of minutes for the fabric to absorb as much starch as possible, toss the yardage in the dryer, then iron with steam. As long as you iron somewhat with the grain (in other words, don't try to push the iron along the bias!), you will end up with a very flat, very stable backing.

For the quilt top, you will not add any more distortion by "pressing" with spray starch. When I looked at your previous photo of the top, I think some of the distortions were from cutting and sewing issues; not all of it was due to your ironing methods. You may be surprised by how much of the distortion becomes unnoticeable after quilting and first wash.

With such a small quilt, and using W&N, you really do not need to add horizontal stitching. However, lines 10" apart are not enough for a crib quilt which will get washed frequently. 4" or 5" apart would be as far as I would go. Closer than that would be fine too; however, a lot of really close lines using regular 50wt/3-ply thread can add a surprising amount of stiffness. If quilting lots of close lines, I would use a polyester thread or finer weight cotton thread.

Are you planning on using a walking foot? I highly recommend that.

If you Google "wavy machine quilting walking foot" and then click on "images", you will find lots of examples of wavy line quilting for inspiration.

If you have poufy blocks I would steam the heck out of them to shrink into shape. Sometimes I wet them too. Do this before you use your spray starch. Ironing is dragging your iron back and forth on the fabric. Pressing is putting your iron straight down only, no back and forth or side to side. pick the iron straight up, check to see if it is dry. If not, repeat. When dry, more to next place and do it all again. Some people spray the whole top and let it dry on the ironing board. Then use steam to PRESS it.

I don't, but I usually do my vertical lines fairly close together, usually 1/2" to no more than 2" apart. I also mostly use Warm and Natural or Quilters Dream batting.

I mostly do FMQ, large stipple, large meander. I quilt no more than 3-4 inches apart. I would be horrified if the batting broke apart and bunched up. I donate most of my quilts.

I like your wavy line idea and starting from the middle and working your way out is good too. I would actually start near the middle for each line and stitch out to the end, then after all the lines are done going one way, turn it around and pick up those lines and go the other way. You'll have some lose threads to deal with, but this method will assure that you don't end up askew when you're done.

May I suggest that if you need to take up some puffy areas and you are a beginner DMS quilter, like myself, you might consider "embellishing" those wavy lines my turning them into a wood grain, or elongated leaf pattern. It's really easy to do, it will help you take up that extra pufffiness and it looks super professional. I'll see if I can post a picture for you.

~ Cindy

Yes, this is how I do my quilting, too. I feel it keeps everything "balanced."

This is what I do with all my quilting. It works very well. Some day I will take the time to practice "fancier" quilting but for now & craft shows this is the best.