cthomack

I am new to longarm quilting and have my first real quilt loaded. The blocks are done, but how do I do the sashing? Do I do the horizontal sashing first, remove the quilt and reload it so the vertical sashings are now horizontal??? I'm struggling with the idea of trying to keep the design fairly even if I have to scoot the quilt up as I go. Does this make sense???

AudreyB

Makes perfect sense. When I don't do an overall pattern, I do the top and bottom borders when I get to them then turn the quilt so that the sides become the top and bottom. I'm sure there are other ways to do it, but that's what I do.

cindi

If it's not a simple pattern (i.e. straight lines, criss-crosses, etc.) then turn the qult. If I'm doing mine as I'm advancing instead of removing and turning the quilt I always take a picture of the quilting I did on the top border. - especially if it's ruler work. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten to the bottom border and forgotten how I quilted that top border!

PaperPrincess

What Cindi said. If it takes me more than a day to do a quilt, I'll get to the bottom border & then wonder what the heck I did on the top. I'm sort of a Rambo quilter & don't mark much, just sort of go with it. I know that some quilters are talented enough where they don't have to turn the quilt to get the side borders, but if I'm doing something wavy, like a long feather, I have to turn it. I do the sashing as I go, although sometimes I wait until the end & go back & fill in the sashing, but I've never done blocks larger than the depth of my quilter, so I can get all those without turning.

QuiltnNan

i've done it both ways... depends on the sashing quilt design

feline fanatic

I try to avoid turning the quilt so I do horizontal and vertical as I go. Sashing is usually broken up along the way, either by cornerstones or the horizontal sashing. Now that I think about it, I have yet to get a quilt with unbroken sashing and the one quilt I made myself that way, I left the sashing unquilted (but this quilt was hand quilted). If you mean borders and not sashing I still do each section as I advance, even long feathers. I just hate the thought of reloading. Not sure what my aversion is to it. One reason I know is that I only have a 10' rack and can't accommodate anything longer than 100" if I turn. Most bed quilts I do are at least that long if not longer, so that may explain why I taught myself to be able to quilt long stretches vertically in 20" sections.

Snooze2978

I have robotics on my system. My 1st system was only 9" throat so I turned my quilt for the sides. Then I got a larger throat machine (18") and still turned my quilt as I just didn't think I was capable of piecing my patterns together correctly. Since then I've acquired a 26" throat machine and have finally decided to learn how to "chunk" my side patterns. What this means is piecing them together as I advance my quilt. If the pattern is too intricate to chunk, then I will turn the quilt. Think only one pattern gave me fits and had to turn it............a baptist fan. I use ProQ Designer program to lay out my quilt patterns so I can see what it will all look like.............or supposed to look like when I'm done. Right now Ellen Munnich is giving lessons online once a week showing us all the little tricks of the program. Some of her videos are for those without robotics so you might want to check out her videos just the same........

http://munnichdesign.com/index.htm

It sure has helped me layout my patterns better if nothing else.

selm

I've often thought it is just as much time to turn or sew borders as you go so it is mostly a matter of choice. If the border is a patterned fabric then your stops/starts won't show much if you do them as you roll. Learn how to splice your stops/starts. Do not back tack - pull bobbin thread up and put to one side- pulled around a pin to hold. Roll. Next start, overlap stitching about 1/4" then clip threads of stop before next roll - all done. If you have a solid color border it probably would be better to turn if you can.

I was taught to do everything across the quilt as you progress down the quilt(except side borders if you are going to turn). You do baste outside edge of borders as you go. In other words, do the blocks then sashing before you roll. It's better not to roll back and forth as this could possibly cause puckers I think.