What I see as a Longarm Quilter
 

I realize I may well get blasted for this post BUT I just gotta say these things anyway.

When the top and backing is loaded onto a quilting frame it is pulled taught, not tight enough to bounce a quarter off of it but taught enough for tension when rolling it onto the rollers and back and forth while quilting. If the backing has been pieced, this is when the problems begin. If the seam(s) go from top to bottom of the quilt, when the backing is rolled on the frame there is build up from the seam(s) laying atop one another that can AND will cause several problems from the longarmer. So if the backing has multiple piecing the longarmer is faced with multiple problems.

Now for the top. Hopefully we all set the stitches then press seams to one side with an iron. We are taught to press to the dark or one side by setting the seam then flipping the top fabric over and pressing. Here is where a LAQ problem will arise. Make sure you are NOT pressing in a tiny bit of a fold. We've all done it. That tiny bit of fold, albeit may only be two or three threads of fabric, will raise it's ugly little head to a LAQ. Now if you have done this teeny tiny fold more than once in your piecing, each one WILL cause it's own problem.

If you have a top like a pinwheel or kalidescope (sp) block there is quite a build up of fabric in the center of the block. You may have pressed, ironed, hammered, steamed, steamrolled, ran over, hammered more, and the like to flatten that center. Okay, it looked really good on your ironing board. Well, give that block a bit of a stretch. That center will pop up. It isn't that you may have pieced the block wrong, it is just the nature of the beast. Now a LAQ has to figure out a way to quilt that block AND have the center lay down. Please remember, the center seam of that block is THICK! When we go to quilt over it our machines may get stuck in the fabric. For most of us, the only way to correct this problem is to turn the machine off, turn the flywheel to lift the needle, then turn the machine back on. In most cases, this will appear as a skipped stitch. Worse yet, when the machine gets to the fabric build up, our hopping foot may not be able to clear the build up and kind of "push" the center to one side. Then we always face the problem of the needle breaking at the intersection. (I have learned the hard way to never quilt without some kind of eye protection) I have had to replace eyeglasses from broken needles that have put a chip in my lens right in my line of sight.

Now about those wavy borders. The most common cause of wavy borders, whether cut cross grain of straight of grain is the cut ACTUALLY BEING ON SOME KIND OF GRAIN! If you did not prewash your fabric and set the fabric on straight of grain, most likely your borders are off grain. Off grain fabric WILL wave. We all complain about fabric "shrinking" when washed. Actually the fabric does not shrink. (no I'm not nuts) The fabric is returning to actual size! When fabric is made the fiber is stretched. After the fabric has been created, it is then stretched in pressing. The fibers are treated with chemicals to "relax" the fiber so that it will lay more flat. Then at the end of it all, once again the fabric is stretched to be rolled onto bolts flat. (I worked in a fabric mill for many years, this is why I know this) Now, I'm not telling you that you have to prewash your fabrics, that is your personal preference, but I will say I prewash all my fabrics before I start a quilt. Also, I do purchase at least a quarter yard more than the pattern for the "just in case" problems.

So, for the piecers, if you want to take the time to do this, there is a way you can foresee SOME quilting problems. No one will be able to foresee all the problems. Make sure your top and backing if VERY WELL PRESSED. You need to clip all threads that may show thru. If you see a ravel problem, trim it! Once you have these problems addressed, lay your top (and backing if pieced) on a large surface. Carpeted floor works perfect for this. Give it a bit of a stretch and pin it. Stand up, back up, and give a look. Do you see any ripples? If so, you LAQ will have to deal with those.

I fully expect to get some flack over this post. I am fairly certain most longarm quilters will agree with what I have written. But I know there are some piecers out there that will think I am entirely NUTS. For those of you that think that, go spend a day with a longarmer, you will change your mind.

Now, about "certification" for longarmers. What I am about to say IS MY OPINION, like it or not. If a person goes thru medical school and BARELY passes the board because they really didn't study, they are still going to call themselves a Doctor. May not be a good doctor BUT people will go to them AT LEAST ONCE. If a person goes thru beauty school and comes out barely knowing the difference between a razor and pair of scissors, they can still call themselves a hairdresser. So, with knowing these facts, what is the purpose of making a LAQ get certified? Also, that person will be judged (or graded) by another HUMAN, leaving the results to PERSONAL CHOICE.

Okay, I will jump off my soapbox now and go attempt to finish the quilt that is currently on my frame.

Thank you for this post. A few months ago we had a panel of about 5 longarm quilters as the program for a guild meeting. It was as enlightening as your post. We all want our quilts to look the best possible, and we will get better results if we work WITH the longarmer to achieve that goal.

Dayle

I see nothing arguable in your post - it's honest - it's informative - and it will help me with all my future quilting projects.

Sew on!

Shari

There was a whole lot of information in the statement. I also do not see anything arguable about it....never really thought about the seam in the backing....but can see the problem with pinwheels, been there on that one.....
I still think that you need to check out the LAQ kinda like you would a contractor for your house. How long have they been doing this as a business, pictures of their work, ask for references....after all you will be giving them a piece of your heart....;)

Ditto----ditto___ditto on crashnquilt's post...........

I'm going to bookmark this and read and re-read it. Very good information. Thanks a lot.

I am not a long-armer. I have never taken my quilts to anyone else to quilt, or even look at for that matter. I do plan on getting a frame for my machines-down the road. I have read so many posts on here from many who have questions about sending their quilts out, and the responses by the longarmers or domestic quilters. I have not investigated nor perused any sites regarding longarm quilting, and/or sending them out. That said, I think your article is very informative and certainly opened my eyes to questions I still had after reading all the other posts on the Board regarding the issues they have. I will print this out if you don't mind for future reference. To me, it all makes sense. Very well said. And if you get any flack about your post, I am very interested in those responses too.
By the way, if you think of anything else to add to your message, be sure to let us know! Thanks for highlighting several issues and answering a few questions I had. While reading it I imagined you shaking your head every time you read a post from someone with a question or concern about puckers, wavy borders, split seams, poor stitching, etc. etc. When you know your craft, you know your craft.

No flack here ... never having loaded a quilt onto a frame I appreciate knowing the *things* that can happen to it. I used a LAQ once and I might do it again in the future. It's nice to know the area's where I can improve and not hinder the job of the LAQ.

I also agree about certification ... it's really worth the paper it's printed on (ONLY the paper). If a person wishes to know the abilities of an LAQ ... look at their work, preferably in person.

I would like to add though that if someone is in business of quilting on a LA for others (ie a professional), THEY should also understand that not all piecers are going to know these things and a good professional LAQ should preview the quilt before it is on the frame and before giving the customer a quote to tell the customer "I might run into problems in these areas and the result could be puckers" and give the piecer the option to fix it first. To call upon your previously mentioned professions ... a good doctor is going to tell me all the side effects of a prescribed medication, and a good hair dresser is going to tell me if my hair will not behave like the model's hair in the picture.

This is where I'm coming from. I had never seen a frame or a long arm, never knew how one operated. I had a quilt top that I wanted quilted in a way that was beyond my abilities at that time so I contacted an LA in the area who was recommended by my LQS (and I saw many of her quilts displayed there as well). I phoned her, described my quilt and what I wanted, made an appointment and brought her my quilt top, batting and backing ... ALL BASTED TOGETHER! She had not told me not to, how the heck was I to know quilts were loaded onto frames separate? Never having seen one, I thought they were loaded together. To make matters worse the poor woman was so horrified that I had basted it that she didn't hear me when I told her that I basted it with water soluble thread. She could have just spritzed it with water and it would have pulled apart ... she picked out all the basting threads! Yes, we had a good laugh about that, and fortunately my quilt turned out gorgeous and we are all happy.

But yes, thank you again for your post. I have certainly learned a few things about how to prepare a quilt for a frame (and for that matter - your suggestions should be employed when quilting on a DM as well).

Wow. Thank you for this post. As a longarmer, I can attest that you know whereof you speak. But I did not know that wavy borders could be caused by not prewashing/drying/pressing the fabric. I thought the only cause was not measuring/cutting the border strips before sewing them on. I also did not know that when prewashed fabric "shrinks", it is actually not shrinking at all, but just returning to it's unstretched size. Thanks so much for this information.

Your post was very enlightening!!! Thanks for taking the time to share this.

I thank you for your post!! I am always willing to learn. :thumbup:

Thanks for the information. It can only help all of us--even those of us who use our domestic machines.

I have always spent a lot of time getting my quilt top ready for the long armer. It's not fair to expect the LA to fix all the quilt top problems. If I was a LA and taking customers I know I wouldn't be in business very long because I'd send the quilt tops back with a list of fix its before I quilt it. That said, most experienced LAs know what to look out for and can compensate/adjust/fudge enough so problems seem like no problems at all and should charge much more for the effort.

Thank you so much for this post! I sometimes quilt on my sewing machine, but larger quilts generally go to my LAQ. I'm so fortunate to have someone like you, who will give me the info I need to improve the quality of my tops. I've become a pre-washer whenever possible, and knowing it helps my borders lay flat will push me more in that direction.

I'd love to see additional tips from longarmers along these lines!

Thanks again!

Thank you for a helpful write-up. And for giving me yet another reason for pre-washing.

I don't h ave a longarm, nor do I send my quilts to be longarmed. I just want to say that I didn't knowmuch about it, and I learned a lot about longarming, and fabric in quilting in general
Thanks

Some good info...appricate everything you said!

Great post! Honest, thorough, informative, detailed. I haven't yet sent any of my quilts to a LAQ, but I'm glad to learn of these issues. Thanks for taking the time to educate us!

Anita

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!Could not of said it better.

Thanks for the info. I would like a nice page that I could print listing the Do's and don'ts of getting a quilt ready for the longarmer. The first one I sent out luckily turned out great. She said mine was good. Yeah!!! She also showed me one someone else brought her that had a very wavy border. She did a good job of quilting out the waves.

Sure wish the quiltingboard had a "Like" button like Facebook!

Thanks. I don't LA but its good to know what I need to do to make the LAing easier.

I have done many quilts with degrees of problems. I do let people know, after I have gone over the quilt, What problems I may have with it. Sometimes this becomes a sewing lesson and people improve their piecing and are glad about it. Others are not so willing to think they have a situation with their quilt that may cause a problem. Oh well! I let everyone know there are no garuntees and I'll do my best with what I'm given. LAM quilters are not mirical workers although some times it seems like it!

peace

peace

I can only dream about being in your position!

Your post is very informative. I have a LA but only do my own, I have enough problems with my own quilts I will never try to work on someone elses!

Great post! I quilt my own stuff on my DSM or by hand, and don't anticipate ever sending anything out, but I was fascinated by your article, and learned a ton of stuff that I will keep in mind as I piece. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

Alison

You were in my house when I loaded that last quilt I did! Seriously, good commentary and I think the points you brought up are ones LA'ers get all the time. Thanks from all of us who LA!

As a long-arm quilter, I always stress the importance of accurate measuring and cutting, 1/4 inch seams and pressing. But then I always press a top(mine or a customers) before I load it on the machine. I float all of the tops, no matter what size and it seems to help with most wavy borders. However, I have gotten some tops that were sewn with anywhere from 1/8" to 1/2" seams with puckers already in the seams and to say those are a challenge is a mild understatement. Puckers will show up and there really isn't much you can do about it except try to hide them and most of the time it works. But you know what, the quilt still turns out beautiful and the customers end up happy and that pleases me. So far I've been fortunate enough to not receive a quilt that is beyond salvation. It's very gratifying to see pleasure in a customer's face or to get a thankful e-mail if it's by mail. It just makes my day!
Oh, and I want to add the importance of the backing and batting to be at least 3" bigger on all 4 sides. Way important!

I agree! Like :)

As a newbie with my 15" Bailey, I found your post enlightening and helpful. It was well thought out and logical, founded on experience and knowledge. Thank you.

Thanks for all the info. I'm getting my longarm soon.

Wow, being a rank amateur, I appreciate all the information you have provided. I haven't had enough experience to deal with a lot of things, but I'm sure I'll either learn or quit trying to do something I'm not capable of doing! I prefer the "Learn" pathway. Thank you very much for all the information. In some fields, certification means something, but may not mean anything in others, and in LAQ, it doesn't appear to mean anything!!

Jeanette Frantz

You have added some important additional points that are lacking on our website Hints page because I was afraid to offend piecers too much. I'd like to add good pressing to your list. I don't mind a little touch up but to take the time for the whole thing is something I need to charge for. Also on some machines even 3 additional inches can be skimpy. I have a thread cutter on our APQS Millenium and it requires a little more. Our side clamps will disrupt the stitching pattern. I have hemmed the edges of several 4-5" wide pieces of muslin for my own use, so it can be reused. I lay it on my backing and baste the 2 together for the additional width when needed (don't make a seam). If a client uses anything like this i return it. Also be sure your backing is squared it saves us time and you $$$$. I am so encouraged by your positive responses to this post and thankful to the originator.

This is information I didn't know and gives me an even greater appreciation for my LAQ, whose work I think is fabulous. Thanks for sharing.

Great post, very valuable information for quilters and LA's. Thank you for taking the time I really appreciate it.

I also see nothing offensive about your post.

However, I am not fully understanding the problem with pieced backings. can you (or other LAQrs) please say more about why that's a problem? I've recently started making pieced backings. Should I not do that?

Is this also a problem for people (like me) who quilt on a standard sewing machine?

Thanks.

i understand that some long-arms can be set on "auto pilot" while the operator can do something else. first, is this an option setting for a long-arm? second, what happens when/if there are problems that you discribe? does the long-arm stop itself, or does it keep going? this would be interesting to know.

Seams in a backing:

It may be that a pieced backing that needs to be lined up 'exactly' with the top might be problematical? Especially if it has to go in 'the not usual' way?

For a backing, I was told to remove the selvages and to use at least a 1/2 inch seam. I don't remember if I was supposed to press the seam open or to the side for the backng.

What about seams that are twisted ? End A goes north - end B goes south?