Pros & Cons of floating a top!
#22
I too am a floater. It is much quicker and like PaperPrincess, I like access to the back of the quilt. For minor adjustments I will pin the sides to the backing and baste the sides before attaching the side clamps.
That being said if the quilt is not square or is some how wonky I will use the traditional pinning method which allows a bit of finesse!!
Cindy - I am intrigued with what magnets you use from Harbor Freight - my DH often goes there when we are down near the store - it is amazing what can be repurposed fro sewing from there.
That being said if the quilt is not square or is some how wonky I will use the traditional pinning method which allows a bit of finesse!!
Cindy - I am intrigued with what magnets you use from Harbor Freight - my DH often goes there when we are down near the store - it is amazing what can be repurposed fro sewing from there.
#24
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Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: San Joaquin Valley, California
Posts: 829
I also have 2 18 inch magnetic bars, they are very strong and holds the top taut, thank you for all your input. Sometimes when someone who has been quilting longer than you frowns on your method you can get a little unsure of your method. I see that many of you float.. I guess that we can quilt to your own ..drumbeat..
#25
I technically float my tops, but square up, baste the sides and across the belly bar of the whole quilt. That way I can find any problem areas and ease them in. It takes more time "up front" , but advancing and quilting is a breeze!
#27
I use those 18" magnetic holders [bars] from Harbor Freight that are meant to hold tools on the wallActually I use a QuilTal for the bottom backing and tops of my larger quilts.
#29
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: north Alabama
Posts: 1,907
I'm a floater! I pin only the back on the take up roller leader. Then I float the batting about 2 - 3 inches from the pin line on the take up roller, then float the top on that. I also attach side leaders to the backing to keep it taut. That and the weight of the backing, batting and top provide plenty of tension until the last row or so. At that time, I attach the remaining backing to the next roller, tighten it up, and finish the quilt.
This method was necessitated by back, neck, shoulder arm and hand pain that happened when I attached all layers of the quilt to the frame rails. It took a couple of quilts to get it to work right, but since then this method has worked very well.
This method was necessitated by back, neck, shoulder arm and hand pain that happened when I attached all layers of the quilt to the frame rails. It took a couple of quilts to get it to work right, but since then this method has worked very well.
#30
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: The Deep South near Cajun Country, USA
Posts: 5,434
I pinned down my first couple of quilts that I did and then tried floating the top & batting. I have a lot better success keeping everything straight and not getting tucks anywhere in a quilt when I float the top. I have a very good eye for knowing if the quilt is still square or not and they all seem to try to move a little bit, or maybe it's because I start from the right side as I am standing at the back and move towards the left with the sewing. I don't do a lot of free motion quilting yet. I'm still doing Panto's.
I will say that as I move down the quilt, every time I roll to the next area, I do pin the sides of the area that I am working on to keep it as still as possible. I, also, have clamps that I use to keep the sewing area taut. I remove those pins when I am through quilting in the area, roll the quilt, and then re-pin. It works well for me and I am a very new long arm quilter.
Edited to add: I quilt on a very seasoned 1998 Nolting long arm with a 24" throat. If I had one of the longarms that had the locks so you could sew a straight line down the sides, I would not pin the sides, I would baste them. But my Nolting is dependent on me to go straight and, good luck with that. lol
Another thing. I use those big corsage pins that you can get in almost any silk flower area in stores to pin my quilts. I did have to smooth them down because they had a lot of "grabbies" on them. I used a combination of steel wool and sandpaper. These pins are study enough to hold anything I want to quilt. They do not roll well if I leave them in the sides so I cannot roll the quilt unless I remove them. No problem, I only put 3 or 4 on each side for each sewing area. It takes about 10 seconds to remove both sides.
Merry Christmas to all. Foods in the oven and I am catching up on my favorite website.
I will say that as I move down the quilt, every time I roll to the next area, I do pin the sides of the area that I am working on to keep it as still as possible. I, also, have clamps that I use to keep the sewing area taut. I remove those pins when I am through quilting in the area, roll the quilt, and then re-pin. It works well for me and I am a very new long arm quilter.
Edited to add: I quilt on a very seasoned 1998 Nolting long arm with a 24" throat. If I had one of the longarms that had the locks so you could sew a straight line down the sides, I would not pin the sides, I would baste them. But my Nolting is dependent on me to go straight and, good luck with that. lol
Another thing. I use those big corsage pins that you can get in almost any silk flower area in stores to pin my quilts. I did have to smooth them down because they had a lot of "grabbies" on them. I used a combination of steel wool and sandpaper. These pins are study enough to hold anything I want to quilt. They do not roll well if I leave them in the sides so I cannot roll the quilt unless I remove them. No problem, I only put 3 or 4 on each side for each sewing area. It takes about 10 seconds to remove both sides.
Merry Christmas to all. Foods in the oven and I am catching up on my favorite website.
Last edited by Barb in Louisiana; 12-25-2014 at 05:15 AM.
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