Trying to finish first quilt
 

Hello all.

I am working on finishing my first quilt. I had a quilt that was suited to be a baby quilt through a misunderstanding originally making it. I added panels along all sides to make it longer.

Now, it is the size I want it to be. But, I have no idea how to cut batting to make it fit and how to sew it all together.

I thought I would cut the batting to match the size of the backing and then sew it to the backing.

After that, I planned to "stitch the ditch" for the squares. but, since i have the large panels on the side that have no squares and I don't want to have it have the yarn tuft things, i have no idea what to do.

Any help would be appreciated.

Can you post a photo so that we can see where you are in the process? There are a couple of ways to finish your quilt. You could do the pillowcase method, where you lay your backing and your front right sides together, place the batting on top, baste, sew around the perimeter for all but about 12 inches and then turn everything inside out. The other way is to lay your backing face down, batting on top of it, then top right-side up on top of that, baste, quilt, cut off the excess and bind.

I can post a picture for sure. Keep in mind, I am a first time quilter. I am also not very sewing talented.

Hi - Is there anyway that you can post a picture of your quilt? That would certainly help with giving you some ideas for how to quilt it.

As for the batting, I usually cut my batting 3-4 inches larger than my top and then the backing about 3-4 inches larger than the batting. I quilt on a regular sewing machine, i.e., not a longarm so I don't need as much overage. You should have some though, because the quilting will take up the fabric and you'll need the extra to square the quilt when you're done.

I've been trying to post pics, but they all fail...so, I can't post them into the thread directly.

http://s1078.photobucket.com/albums/w499/Chelcee_M/

Here is a photbucket I added the photos to

I think you want to sew all three (backing, batting and front) together at the same time. You can make a different design in the borders...lines, Xs, just about anything. But it sounds like you are planning on sewing the batting and back together first and then sew the top on it. I may have read it wrong. But if that's what you are planning on doing, don't. You are making an extra step for yourself. I'm proud of you to make your first quilt and want to quilt it yourself!!! And on your own, you added borders. You are doing terrific for a beginner!!

Thanks for the compliments! This has been very hard. You are right, my plan was to sew the back and batting first, then the top. I didn't think about sewing them all at the same time. I am not the greatest at sewing, so I just wanted to make sure it would stay.

My dad was suggesting to stitch the ditch all the way to the ends, but I don't want it to look bad.

Your quilt will be very pretty, I looked on your photobucket. I agree with the others about sewing everything together first. Keep up the good work, remember ALL of us made a first quilt :)

Thanks you. The quilt means a lot to me. It contains pieces of shirts that can't be replaced.

So, when i sew them all together, do I sew them right side up? Do i need to fold the edges over and sew them that way?

It is always nice to get the first one under your belt. It looks great. Thanks for sharing.

1. buy a piece of fabric for the backing that is at least 4 inches wider and longer than your top.
2. buy a piece of batting (either in a bag or off the roll) that is at least 4 inches wider and longer than the top. Look at the instructions on the batting. It will tell you how closely you need to quilt it for the batting to stay together when washed. I prefer something that only needs to be quilted every 4 or more inches. I feel like cotton batting is easier to use (but this is just my opinion and others prefer other batting)
3. iron the backing. Place the backing good side facing the floor. tape it to the floor (pulled flat but not stretched). Put the batting on top. Put the quilt top on top of that (with the good side showing). This is your quilt sandwich.
4. Safety pin the quilt sandwich together. Pins should be placed about a fist width apart (try to stagger rows).
5. Machine quilt. I recommend using the walking foot and stitching in the ditch. If you use a thread color like light gray or tan, it should fade into the quilt more (hiding mistakes). Look at the colors in the quilt and pick one thread that looks good. When you sew, usually, you sew with the quilt face up.
6. In the border, the easiest way to fill it is to make lines all the way around. An easier way to do it is to stitch in the ditch around the border and then mark the next line by using masking tape. quilt next to the tape and then move the tape next to that line... all the way around until you have filled in the border fabric enough to be pleased with it.
7. Come back to this quilting board to find out how to add a binding. I prefer the look of the added binding to a folded over binding but others have other opinions.

I sometimes use embroidery floss instead of yarn to do ties in baby quilts. I will do regular ties or sometimes use other stitches, similar to some cross-stitch stitches (if you know any cross-stitch). I've used crow's foot, a regular x, lazy daisy, etc. Or you could take a needle with yarn or embroidery floss and stitch a random/freehand design in the border.

I wish I could give some advice about finishing it, but i'm so bad at describing without you being here in person...but good luck with that part. :)

I know you said you wanted to avoid the yarn tuft things in the borders, which I think means you don't want to tie the quilt at all. However, tying is still an easy, simple way to finish a quilt, and you can always tie french knots in the top and have the "tufts" on the back of the quilt where they won't show. Just a thought. If you'd prefer quilting it, another good option for beginners is to use a decorative stitch on your sewing machine. I know one quilter who selected a wavy stitch on her machine and the quilt is gorgeous.

http://www.redpepperquilts.com/2010/...oin-quilt.html

Good luck and make sure you post pics of the finished quilt!

I am new at machine quilting, and what I've found easiest so far is doing wavy diagonal lines from corner to corner through the squares, continuing all the way to the outer edges of the border. On a rectangular quilt like yours, the line starting at any given corner of the border will end up about 3/4 of the way up the long side (not actually go corner to corner of the quilt). Hope that makes sense. . .if not PM me and I will try to explain more clearly.

Since the lines are wavy and irregular, there is no way to tell if they are 'right' or not! If you want to, you can go back and do it the other way as well, creating a diamond shaped lattice instead of just the diagonal waves. Depending on the quilt I may or may not go both ways with it.

Congratulations on your first quilt! I don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said - but please do post pics of the finished product. I'm sure it'll be wonderful!

Make sure you smooth out each layer starting with you top upside down then the batting then your backing(right side up) and use lots and lots of pins. You will be glad you did.