I've been making a quilt for a 3-year-old grandson. I'm proud of how the top went together - with a few sessions of unsewing, but from there it just keeps getting worse and worse. I sewed it together pillowcase style and 3 sides are great. The corner of one long side is almost a ruffle. Ignored it for a while and began to tie it - I put in higher loft batting than usual, cause I was going for the fluffy look and can't possible quilt it on my Plain Jane machine. There's no way it's going to work - not smooth at all. So my plan is to cut off the outside seam on the ruffly side - clamp it to a table - smooth it as much as possible - pin the dickens out of it and resew that side - just by ironing the seam in and sewing it from the top. I'll have to take out most of my current ties - I'm just about 1/4 through. When I have it clamped down I hope I can see what ties can stay and which ones have to come out.

This is the largest quilt I've done - and it's just twin size! The fluffiest batting - the first quilt to tie. I just don't know what I'm doing!

So --- will this work as well as anything? Any other suggestions?

This is just the top so it won't help with my problem, but this is what I started with:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-72144-1.htm

Sounds like it would work, but I don't do pillowcase method. Good luck! He will love it.

I've made only a handful of quilts and several table runners. My first 3 attempts at binding were awful so I've been pillowcasing the rest. I've been very happy with the smaller quilts and runners I've made, but this ... not so much. I'm of the "good enough" quilting school, but this one simply is NOT good enough!

Be careful if it's a fluffy polyester batting. If your ties are far apart, it probably won't hold up in the wash. Quilts for 3yo tend to get regular brutal washing and drying, which can cause batting to "ball up" and get lumpy.

I'm thinking you would be better off with Warm n Natural -- a very sturdy batting (because it is needlepunched through scrim) that can be tied up to maybe 10" apart and still hold up well in the wash. I would think a fluffy poly batting would require ties every 2" to 3" in order to hold up well over time.

Do you still have the batting packaging? It should say on there how closely the batting needs to be quilted. That would be the max distance for ties, I think.

Thanks - I'll check. I'm calling it "fluffy" but it's not the kind I've used to make snow effects on a Christmas scene! I think it was called Medium Loft - I thought I wanted high loft, but am very glad that's not what I got. My ties are on the corners of the squares so are currently every 6 inches. I could go back and put one in the center of each block as well.

I think your idea will work just fine. I agree, the extra ties in the center of the blocks will make it sturdier in the wash :D:D:D

Thanks for the help - I put it away for a bit cause I was so disgusted with it. But ... a week from Christmas I think I really need to get it out and get it finished!

Classic reason why I no longer use any polyester battings. Try a wool batting for warmth, and they quilt and/or tie beautifully.

Puffy, fluffy, thick battings do not necessarily make for warm quilts. They are the dickens to handle, don't fold and store nicely, hold the creases after they are folded for any length of time, and have a slippery feel against the body....in my opinion.

I wish we could all get away from them. Think of how polyester burns, too. Not good for children.

Jan in VA

I didn't want a warm quilt - we live in S. Texas - just liked the fluffy look, but you have a point about the polyester for sure!

Okay - the monster has been tamed and this quilt is finished. I cut off the offending seam and redid the ruffly edge of the quilt. It's not perfect, but is sure a lot better. I clamped and pinned the dickens out of the thing and machine quilted it in large squares - about 10 inch squares - then I tied in the middle of that. It has the puffy look I wanted, but I think is secure enough for the wash. I know my grandson is going to love it. He's the one who was sitting at my kitchen table and looked into the dining/sewing room. Saw the material for his quilt and said, "THAT'S the one you need to work on Grammy, but you need to finish eating first!" He carried a scrap of the race car material around with him for days and when he's seen it in progress has asked earnestly if I was through with it yet. He hasn't seen it for a while now, and being 3 will be just as excited on Christmas day as he would have been if he had never seen it before. I can't wait!

(The pink stripe is peeking out from under this quilt - it's not the outer border!)