selm

I told my elderly, sick Aunt I would quilt her quilt on my longarm. But I'm having big problems. There are many places(so far) with seams that need mending/stabilizing which is going to make for slow progress on this quilt. I was going to outline the large stars but I'm running into thick seam allowances. I went up to a size 21 needle but still not working.

The leaves and stems shown are applique. Everything else is pieced. Excluding the borders can I do a pantograph all over including over the applique? If so, would white thread be the color to use. I have already done ruler work in the border in white. I have a pantograph that is a large meander I think I would use to keep it simply.

I mostly do pantographs or ruler work. I'm not confident with free motion having only done some fill work in a small area on a quilt once.

She said she doesn't care how I finish it. I'm anxious to get this done so I can get it to her very soon.

Any and all suggestions are welcomed. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

sewingsuz

The quilt is very beautiful. I cannot see the seams coming apart. I would do pantographs all over and when finished with that look for bad places and zig zag with white a little bit just to hold it. Good luck to you and hope it turns out well.

Tartan

Do whatever is easier for you. You might pick up some pointers from Lorena on YouTube. Her site is Lorena’s Quilting and she does a lot of videos on working with problem quilts.

quiltingshorttimer

the open seams are the real issue! is it still possible to close them with a fusible? If so I'd do that, even tucking in a small piece and pressing in place. Then I'd probably do an all-over that allowed me to make sure that I reinforced the seams that I've fused and also allowed me to avoid the bumps where seams came together--something like the panto you plan but I'd want to control from front frankly. Sweet of you to do this for her. I did one several years ago for a lady that was elderly and losing vision but wanted to leave several quilts to be given to 2xgreat grandchildren--some not born yet! I got a tumbling block one, that she'd fused the back and then decided to pull it all off--which pulled open some seams. Just wanted stitch in ditch which would have made those open seams worse. So I used bits of fusible to close the seams and then stitched 1/4" inside the seams and made sure to close the seam at top/bottom. Not sure it would have stood up to a washing machine, but it was at least usable as wall hanging.

selm

Thank you all so much. SewingSuz, I might think about using the zigzag as you suggest.
Thanks Tartan. I'll check out that youtube site.
Quiltingshorttimer, she used typical quilting seams ironed to one side. The problem is that she didn't maintain a 1/4 inch seam and ran right off the fabric in places. Maybe bits of fusible will help. I found and fixed 3 loose seams on my sewing mcahine before mounting on the table, then I found 3 more before I was ready to quilt. I expect to find more as I advance the quilt.
I am concerned about it holding up to washing and plan to tell whoever this is given to that they might want to spot clean and gently vacuum.

thimblebug6000

I prefer a pale gold or grey thread, rather than a stark white against scrappy colours.

selm

I agree about stark white against the scrappy colors but will gold or grey look ok against the white fabric. Also, as I've already started doing a white on white design in the borders would this all coordinate ok?

Thank you for your thoughts.

bearisgray

It is a pretty pattern..

is there enough fabric available at the open seams to open them up another inch ogrand? On each end and then realign the pieces and sew them together by hand?

Not exactly a fun activity, but - depending on the fabric available - it might work.