SusieQOH

Grrrr........ I just did a fairly good job of quilting my own quilt on my Juki. I THOUGHT it was going very well but when I finished I had several wrinkles on the back. Since it's not a special quilt I'm going to just leave it but I wouldn't want to gift it to anyone.
I pin basted this one. Mistake. When I use Elmer's school glue I haven't had any problems.

Can you live with creases? Or any tips for me? I'm not a seasoned machine quilter but since I've practiced 10 minutes per day (SBG recommended to me) I've gotten so much better. I can actually do it!

Iceblossom

It depends on what you mean by creases... are they just little tucks here and there or are they big honking folds that you can hide stuff in?? For little tucks I've learned to ignore them for big tucks I stitch them down by hand.as invisibly as I can. I've also learned to love prints on the back -- nothing shows your learning/mistakes as much as a solid white sheet.

I'm a big fan of spray baste and while I haven't used it myself glue for the same reasons. Over time I've learned for me that I have to start with a tightly laid down bottom as smooth as I can. Then I do the top -- and then I turn over the project and work a bit on the back again. I use my 6x24 ruler to extend my reach.

I am hoping to get a long arm this year. If not, I'm going to get a replacement ping pong table for the one I left behind. I got mine for free last time! You want the type that can easily fold up, it is not big enough for a queen top but a standard table is 9 feet x 5, a rigid surface (even if it has been left out in the weather and not really playable), and a good height for most of us to work with. My old house was so small I had to wait until weather was good and open it outside. This house has a garage and I will be able to pull my car out and put up the table no matter the weather.

Onebyone

I always use a busy print for my backiing in case of a crease or fold. I stitch the fold, pucker or crease down on the edge of it and make that stitching part of the quilting pattern. No one's the wiser. Even won a blue ribbon with one. Most non national quilt judges rarely look that close.

Stitchnripper

I would not love a crease but it would depend on the quilt and backing as to whether I would fix it. I only use Elmer's washable school glue now, no taping of anything and have never had a crease. I quilt in a Brother PQ1500

Anniedeb

I have issues with creases! I've been quilting a tree of life panel wallhanging, and have had so much trouble with creases and folds, both small and large! I pinned as usual, and used some leftover backing that I'd used on a queen sized top. (No problem with that one.) I just spent two days removing stitches to undo the folds. I took it apart, spray basted, smoothed, pressed, and pinned and slowly proceeded. Not perfect, but much better. Just don't know what is different with this one!

sewbizgirl

Good for you, SuziQ, keeping up your FMQ practice. You must be pretty good by now!

Sorry about your creases. I mainly have problems with them when my backing is not 100% cotton. If I can tack down the crease and it looks ok, that's what I do. Major ripping is for those creases that just won't do right any other way. I try to take a peek at what's going on, on the back when I'm quilting. Just a check every so often can save a lot of time in the long run.

Forgot to say, I pin baste my quilts and quilt with a sit down longarm. I love it!

Mkotch

I pin baste and usually have no problem with creases/wrinkles. I make sure the backing and batting are well-stretched before adding the top. But because I use my domestic machine, I don't machine quilt anything that's larger than throw size. I take bigger quilts to a long armer or quilt them in sections myself.

WMUTeach

One of my favorite quilts started out with lots of tucks and creases that I did not discover until the end. I picked out all of the quilting and that is why it is now a favorite. We just spent so much time together. I seldom get a tuck now because I make sure my back is really, really flat. I use clamps that I bought from a BIG BOX hardware store and then inherited some more. I lay out my back on the biggest table I can. (I go to the local senior center often because their beautiful new tables are on wheels that lock in place.) Lay out the back and clamp it down, spray, layer on the batting and smooth it out, spray, lay on the top, smooth it out again. Sometimes I have also used my 12.5 square to push any wrinkles that have emerged to the outside. Just lay it flat and starting at the center with moderate pressure "press" the quilt from center to the edges. If I find a lump or bump, I simple separate the appropriate layer smooth out and continue. Remove the clamps and off I go to the machine.

If your tucks are little some may disappear with the natural puckering of washing anyway. Oh, you knew that! Three cheers for conquering the trepidation of free motion!

aashley333

I used to pin, but now I spray baste. My problem was pulling too tightly on backside when clipping to table before adding batting. When I added batting, I took off clips, and the backside would "scrunch" slightly. Now, I gently smooth backside without pulling, which has helped greatly. When using the new longarm, I begin in the center and smooth, smooth, smooth towards the edges. Creases are not welcome, but are tolerated.

Stitchnripper

That is good advice. I do that with the glue basting. Smooth from the center out. When I taped to the floor for pinning it did bounce back. There is a difference between very smooth and "taut" which is too stretched. (And then the wrinkles "taunt" us, haha)