Stabilizing the quilt
04-06-2009, 04:00 PM
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 739
Seems like overkill. Fabric is fluid medium and the actual quilting process will produce a small amount of "wonkiness" here and there. Stitching the very edges would not allow the quilt to "breathe". I square units and blocks. Once the top is completed, sandwiched and pinned I begin stabilizing by stitching in the ditch each row horizonticaly and then verticaly. Then, I mark and quilt the entire quilt except for the borders. At this point, I square each corner of the quilt. I quilt the borders. I add binding according to the measurement through the center vertical and horizontal. This is about as square as a quilt can get.
04-06-2009, 04:57 PM
#13
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: currently central new jersey
Posts: 8,623
while a quilt was still on my frame, i wet it down to get all the chalk marks out. what i do is wipe it off with a pure white towel and the chalk just cleans off easily. anyway, i was wetting the edges and i discovered that when it dried, the edges has shrunk just enough to "block" out any wonkies and leave me a nice straight edge.
well, you know the rest i'm sure. i roll each section out and wet it enough to wet, not soak, the top. i find that that's where the wonkies live. the backing is very tight on the frame. the water is not enough to go through to the batting, so that stays dry, as does the backing. but the top gets very straight. when that section dries, i move on to the next section. it's a few extra days on the frame, but so much easier on my back. the take-up roller really does the job for me.
this shrinking process also shrinks down any squoogies (those oversized pointy little hills of fabric that appear between two quilted areas) and other bulging problems.
once the top has been straightened and roughly trimmed, i can go right to binding, which i do from the front then trim to finished size, and hand stitch to the back. does anyone understand that garble at all?
well, you know the rest i'm sure. i roll each section out and wet it enough to wet, not soak, the top. i find that that's where the wonkies live. the backing is very tight on the frame. the water is not enough to go through to the batting, so that stays dry, as does the backing. but the top gets very straight. when that section dries, i move on to the next section. it's a few extra days on the frame, but so much easier on my back. the take-up roller really does the job for me.
this shrinking process also shrinks down any squoogies (those oversized pointy little hills of fabric that appear between two quilted areas) and other bulging problems.
once the top has been straightened and roughly trimmed, i can go right to binding, which i do from the front then trim to finished size, and hand stitch to the back. does anyone understand that garble at all?
04-07-2009, 12:31 AM
#16
Power Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Somerset, England
Posts: 10,686
Originally Posted by butterflywing
while a quilt was still on my frame, i wet it down to get all the chalk marks out. what i do is wipe it off with a pure white towel and the chalk just cleans off easily. anyway, i was wetting the edges and i discovered that when it dried, the edges has shrunk just enough to "block" out any wonkies and leave me a nice straight edge.
well, you know the rest i'm sure. i roll each section out and wet it enough to wet, not soak, the top. i find that that's where the wonkies live. the backing is very tight on the frame. the water is not enough to go through to the batting, so that stays dry, as does the backing. but the top gets very straight. when that section dries, i move on to the next section. it's a few extra days on the frame, but so much easier on my back. the take-up roller really does the job for me.
this shrinking process also shrinks down any squoogies (those oversized pointy little hills of fabric that appear between two quilted areas) and other bulging problems.
once the top has been straightened and roughly trimmed, i can go right to binding, which i do from the front then trim to finished size, and hand stitch to the back. does anyone understand that garble at all?
well, you know the rest i'm sure. i roll each section out and wet it enough to wet, not soak, the top. i find that that's where the wonkies live. the backing is very tight on the frame. the water is not enough to go through to the batting, so that stays dry, as does the backing. but the top gets very straight. when that section dries, i move on to the next section. it's a few extra days on the frame, but so much easier on my back. the take-up roller really does the job for me.
this shrinking process also shrinks down any squoogies (those oversized pointy little hills of fabric that appear between two quilted areas) and other bulging problems.
once the top has been straightened and roughly trimmed, i can go right to binding, which i do from the front then trim to finished size, and hand stitch to the back. does anyone understand that garble at all?
I never thought of stabilising before putting the binding on - I trim everything back to the top once quilted then put my folded double binding on to the top by machine. I don't pin or glue, just sit with it trailing out behind me and place it as I go. Then I turn over and hand stitch to the back, again placing as I go - no pinning or glueing. OK Maybe my quilts aren't always plum square but who wants to be square, :D :wink: !
K x
04-07-2009, 06:20 AM
#17
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,775
Butter flying
I do understand and I was happy you did mention the wetting process since I have a home made frame but I didn't know I can actually wet the fabric while on the frame.....
It was very interesting to read all of the comments in here....
As for me...It depends...I am working on a large dinning room table to square quilts up but of course its not a perfect solution.....
Quilts that I feel will couse some problems during binding..I rather serge the edges first.....It keeps them right in place and make them easier to keep in place.....
:lol:
I do understand and I was happy you did mention the wetting process since I have a home made frame but I didn't know I can actually wet the fabric while on the frame.....
It was very interesting to read all of the comments in here....
As for me...It depends...I am working on a large dinning room table to square quilts up but of course its not a perfect solution.....
Quilts that I feel will couse some problems during binding..I rather serge the edges first.....It keeps them right in place and make them easier to keep in place.....
:lol:
04-07-2009, 10:06 AM
#18
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: currently central new jersey
Posts: 8,623
i actually can't take all the credit for this. sharon schamber shows a wetting process on the frame to "iron" the backing instead of really ironing. as the fabric dries, it shrinks into un-wrinkles. i also saw a video of her squaring up a block by stretching and shrinking by wetting in place and then pressing to true it up. both methods can be found on youtube.
so i thought HAH! there's more to this shrinking thing than meets the eye.
she uses a plain old spray bottle so i do too.
so i thought HAH! there's more to this shrinking thing than meets the eye.
she uses a plain old spray bottle so i do too.
04-07-2009, 10:15 AM
#19
Power Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Somerset, England
Posts: 10,686
Originally Posted by butterflywing
i actually can't take all the credit for this. sharon schamber shows a wetting process on the frame to "iron" the backing instead of really ironing. as the fabric dries, it shrinks into un-wrinkles. i also saw a video of her squaring up a block by stretching and shrinking by wetting in place and then pressing to true it up. both methods can be found on youtube.
so i thought HAH! there's more to this shrinking thing than meets the eye.
she uses a plain old spray bottle so i do too.
so i thought HAH! there's more to this shrinking thing than meets the eye.
she uses a plain old spray bottle so i do too.
K x
04-07-2009, 10:44 AM
#20
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: currently central new jersey
Posts: 8,623
the only thing i can think of is some contraption where you hang one roller from the ceiling with the quilt rolled on it. at the bottom would be another heavy roller to roll it onto. wet the center part as you go? it sounds like a lot of trouble, but the idea is to hang it with straight weight on the bottom and top to keep it stretched out top to bottom, then wet the sides. you didn't ned that living room anyway, did you?
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