I need some input. this is the first time I have pulled such a boner. I was setting some blocks on point and on the sides and top and bottom I had to set in some half square triangles. I cut the triangles the wrong way which put the sides of the quilt on the bias. I don't know why I didn't notice it right off but I didn't and by the time I did, I was too far along to tear it all out not to mention I didn't have more material. thinking I could go ahead being careful, I completed the quilt. needless to say the borders are wavey. I hand quilt so it might be easier correcting it as I quilt than If I were machine quilting. does anyone have any advice that would help me?

I don't have a camara so I can't post picture but when my daughter comes I might be able to. I just need to get on with the quilting.

How discouraging that must be - have you tried steaming the sides really well? Lay out the quilt flat so that you can hand press the wavey parts as flat as you can make them, then steam them really well and when cool enough for you to touch, hand press them again to get it really flat and even. then you can put a strip of painter's tape on the flattened fabric just inside the edge...far enough inside so that you can do a hand basting stitch around the edge of the fabric to keep it flat and even. When the hand basting is done in each area you can then gently remove the painter's tape and move on to another section of the quilt. Move around the quilt a you do this to get all of the edge done. The hand basting on the edge will hold it in place until you're done with the quilting and ready for the binding...

That is a good question and thread. I had the same problem with my last quilt. i still do not think how I am cutting my blocks out. Just finished cutting some triangles for my quilt also hope I do not have this problem, since I have no idea if I cut on the bias or not.

I am going to press and hand baste the edges of my next quilt. Because I hand quilt in a hoop, I find the borders do stretch after all the handling. Tape ... I never thought of that. Good idea..I would also try heavily starching the triangles. Maybe that would control the bias some more.

If the quilt would work with another border on the outside of the setting triangles, you could square up the quilt with the outer border by easing some of the fullness. You would then have to pretty heavily quilt that portion of the quilt so as not to see a puffy area in the stretched part.

I would also try to add something to the outside, even if it is a flange, or piping to help get the waves under control.. You could ease the fullness into the next round of fabric, before quilting.

normally the diagonal edge of a triangle is on the Bias and the two sides are firm. however these set in triangles have the diagonal on the side of the quilt . always the outer sides of a quilt needs to be on the straight of the material. I should have taken the thing all apart and used some other material. Alas, I now have to find a way to work around it.

Thanks for the idea of the painters tape. I have never had reason to try it before but sounds like a good plan to me. I also quilt on a stand up oval hoop so there is a lot of pulling on the material. I think I will do the heavy basting thing and maybe it will work. you can sometimes quilt out a problem, maybe this will work. Learned on thing, never go on with a mistake, it will only get worse.

If you decide to remove the border, measure the space each of the triangles SHOULD take up (if they were not stretched out of shape), mark the space and fit the triangles' bias edges into the corrected space (divide triangle edges & pin), and re-sew with the triangles on the bottom. I have done this and it worked well for me, but I did it the first time I put the border on ... in other words, I never had to remove it and re-sew it.

Is this clear as mud?

I had the same problem with a bear paw quilt set on point - the setting triangles had the bias on the outside, and the outer border waved like lettuce. I didn't understand what was going on, and I didn't measure the outer borders through the center - I just sewed and cut them to the right length.

Once I started quilting I realized I had a problem. I ended up making tucks in the border. Since I was hand quilting straight lines across the border, I handquilted the tucks down.

At the time I was devastated - the quilt was supposed to be for my sister-in-law, but I thought it was flawed and ruined forever, so I kept it. Now, I can hardly find the tucks! It helps that the border fabric was solid white, and the quilting thread was white to match.

You could try stay stitching the bias triangles, then reattaching the borders, taking the measurements through the center of the quilt. If you don't want to take the quilt apart, try basting the outer edge and see if that helps with the extra fullness.

I hope it works out for you.

Janet