Prism99

I am amazed at all the recommendations to start in the middle when machine quilting!

With traditional hand quilting in a hoop, it was advised to start in the middle to work any fullness out to the edges. When hand quilting on a frame, however, quilting was done along an edge and the quilt was rolled as quilting was finished.

With machine quilting, assuming the quilt is well-basted, it is not necessary to start in middle. Especially with straight line quilting, starting at one edge and sewing to the other edge is a well-established technique. Starting in the middle is to be avoided as much as possible because of the problem of burying ends -- which is very time-consuming. It's possible to make several tiny stitches at beginning and end so hand burying thread is not necessary, but these stitches do show. Why bother with this at all when you can bury starts and stops in the edges?

One warning I want to give about straight lines. If the quilt is well-basted and the lines do not cross, you will not have a problem. What is more difficult is when lines cross. If you are going to have straight lines cross in your quilt (as with crosshatching), then I recommend heavily starching the backing fabric before layering. Also recommend spray starching the top before layering. Also recommend using basting spray to join the layers. All of these techniques stabilize the layers so there is much less chance of fabric stretching as you sew. One of the big problems with crossing quilting lines is getting a little pucker or tuck right before you cross a line. This is caused by fabric stretching while you sew.

Since you have already glue basted, I would recommend spray starching the top and backing before quilting. You can do this without pressing. Just lay the quilt on a large sheet on the floor, mist with spray starch, let dry (a fan speeds this up), then apply a few more layers of spray starch to each side. This helps keep the fabric from stretching while you sew.

tate_elliott

You don't say what size quilt you have. I make small, charity quilts and also glue baste. I have no problem sewing from side to side.

On the other hand, I can't sew straight to save my life. I've tried using the pointer-guide-thingy on my walking foot, but it looks like I'm trying to meander. On my last one, I finally took the time to mark the crosshatching in Frixon pen. Problem solved! All my lines are straight as can be.

Tate

Anniedeb

I'm a newbie, and only have done 3 quilts, all with SID, cross hatch, X's, just basic. I pin, and start in the middle. I use a walking foot, and have not had any trouble with bunching, or threads nesting. The largest was queen sized and I just rolled and sewed. I pull my threads to the top, tie and cut. I've heard a lot about spray basting, but haven't tried it yet.

rebeljane

I always start in the centre!

bigsister63

No quilt police here!!!!!! Either way is ok and which is easier for you. To do straiught stitching I use blue painters tape. Tape is fairly cheap and can be used over again and does not leave residue! Good Luck!!!!

dirty1mom

I am glad to see I am not the only one who uses the blue painters tape. I love that it comes in different widths.

daisydebby

Just read through the entire thread. I've used spray baste and it works fine. But, I'm wondering, what in the world does glue baste mean? Thanks in advance for answering>

slicksister

Glue baste means you use Elmer's School Glue to baste your sandwich. Drizzle it on. There's lots of threads here about it or you could do a Google search.

I think you just need to jump in and start somewhere. That's how you learn. If it works out, great. If it doesn't try something else next time. Good luck and have fun.

MadQuilter

I generally start in the middle and work to the outside. Then I turn the quilt and tackle the other half. Now some newbies mistake "middle" with "center" - For straight-line quilting I do NOT start in the center, rather at the edge of the center seam.

My quilts are smoothed and basted really well but I still have some shift in the sandwich. If I started at the side, I would need to work out a lot of extra bulk by the time I get to the middle. So for me it makes more sense to start in the middle and work outward.

Mkotch

It depends on the quilt what I do and where I start. If it's a medallion, I anchor around the center. If it's a sampler, I do the sashing and then each individual block. I usually do a bed-sized quilt in sections. I often back-stitch if I'm at the edge but I do bury the knots if I'm working in the middle somewhere. It really varies. A few times a year I take a quilt to a long armer for an over-all pantagraph pattern.