sloscotty

I am considering "facing" a quilt with lots of seams on the edge of the top (think 2" squares pressed to the side not center). I kind of don't want to add any borders. Just checking to see if this is a bad idea? (Considering I'm not super experienced...)

sloscotty

To get an idea of the quilt, here are the blocks laid out (before assembly).

quiltedsunshine

When I was young, my mother taught us to finish the quilt with a "knife edge." We never used a binding. You just fold both edges to the inside and hand sew the edges closed with an invisible or blind stitch. I think some people call it a ladder stitch.

Barb in Louisiana

After you get the blocks sewn together, the first thing I would do, regardless of how you finish & quilt the top is to sew a staystitch around the edge of the quilt top. This staystitch should be about a 1/8 inch seam. This will prevent all those seams around the edge of the top from coming apart. Then finish it however you want to.
I tried putting a whole top on the back and sewing it around the top and turning it to make a type of facing one time! It was a mess. The quilt still has to be quilted according to the batting and the back slid everywhere, even though the outside edge was already sewn. I love binding now. So much easier for me.

polkweed

Shouldn't be a problem, but you can always take some scrap fabric or muslin and add a small boarder to stabilize the edge while you sew the facing strips on. You just cut it off when you trim the quilt before flipping the edge over.

Mkotch

This shouldn't be a problem. The way I attach a facing is basically the same as binding. I simply roll the whole thing over to the back after attaching it to the front, and then I hand stitch it down.

Iceblossom

Love the project! I would second the stay stitch around the outer edge, just inside the seam allowance. I sew on the back side so that the seams end how I like them (which is open in my case) with my 1/4" quilter foot with one side just off the quilt.

Then finish/bind however you want. Grats on a lovely project!

aashley333

Love your quilt! I have been making pixel quilts with 1.25" squares, and now I have an idea for the leftovers!
I also think stitching around edge will secure the edges.

sloscotty

Thanks Barb and Iceblossom for the suggestion to do a stay stitch. I'm assuming you both mean do the stitch on the quilt top (before putting on the longarm for quilting). I've never done a facing, but most of the videos I've watched also do another stay stitch (top stitch inside the seam allowance) after stitching the facing to the front and pressing it away from the seam.

(And doing it before will also give me a nice line to follow when basting the top on the longarm.)

Snooze2978

I like it but with all those seams that could come apart in the process of either binding it or having it quilted. Stitch a line scant 1/4" all around to keep the seams from parting ways.