Tford Posted August 14, 2017 Report Share Posted August 14, 2017 A long time customer brought me this quilt to quilt. She is adorable so I really want to help her get it fixed. The measurements of the length is both sides 70" and the width is within 3/4" of each other (58 3/8 & 59 1/4). But when I started to load it on my Millie I noticed something weird was going on so I laid it on the kitchen floor to see. You will notice that the center lays pretty flat and the outer borders are laying flat but the red border is a mess. She took it back and took off all the borders, remeasured and started putting them back on and the same thing started happening. She says the red fabric is raveling real bad; could it be bad fabric and causing the problem. Have you ever seen this? If so, how did you fix it? She wants to give this to her grandson and is trying real hard to fix it. We are both frustrated so I told her I would ask you guys who have seen everything and are experts. We would appreciate any input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micajah Posted August 14, 2017 Report Share Posted August 14, 2017 It looks to me like the seam on the inner section of the quilt and the first border is tight or the fabric twisted on the bias esp at the corners resulting in the quilt cupping. I would try to unsew the corners on that seam first, lay it back down to see how it looks unsewed. I would not unsew the long sections without doing this first because if the long sections will lay flat with the corners released, you may be able to fix it by adding or subtracing a little fabric on the corners. Post another picture if you decide to unsew so we can sew how that looks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barbm Posted August 14, 2017 Report Share Posted August 14, 2017 It does look like those red borders might be cut on a bit of the bias and are somehow stretching or gathering as they are being sewn on the center or as the outer borders are being added. Is your customer measuring the quilt and cutting the borders to length, then pinning them on? And I can't tell from the photos whether the corners are mitered - that could be mucking things up, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piecrust Posted August 15, 2017 Report Share Posted August 15, 2017 I've had a similar problem, so let me put this one out there. My quilt had two outer borders and I removed them still attached to each other. The middle of the quilt laid flat but the inner border, still attached to the outer border not only waved, but twisted. My fabric had been pre-washed and pressed with steam, not using any starch. Upon closer inspection of the "problem" fabric, I found the weave as "wondering" along with being looser in some areas, tighter in others. I decided to replace the offending fabric and that did the trick. The fabric came from a reputable manufacturer, I suppose it was just a bad bolt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamu Posted August 15, 2017 Report Share Posted August 15, 2017 This is a lovely quilt. I think the only way to fix this issue is to replace the inner red fabric with a different fabric. OR if she has more of this red fabric she might want to take it and make sure it is straight of grain before cutting new borders and try that. The inner red border seems to be the one causing the problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaMissy Posted August 15, 2017 Report Share Posted August 15, 2017 If the red fabric is fraying badly it tells you that the weave in it must be pretty loose. Sometimes sewers like to grab the seam allowance at the top and bottom and help pull the fabric while sewing. If she is doing this it will help it to really stretch. She should pin in a few places and perhaps use a walking foot to help ease the fabric along. I am noticing from your picture that following your grout line on the right hand side that the top of the quilt is about an inch and a half wider than the bottom border. Lovely quilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quilterkp Posted August 15, 2017 Report Share Posted August 15, 2017 Has she measured the pieced portion or the quilt to be sure that part isn't out of square? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted August 15, 2017 Report Share Posted August 15, 2017 Following this one as I have not seen this happen, curious to see how it goes.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iquiltit Posted August 19, 2017 Report Share Posted August 19, 2017 It looks like to me that she needs to sew on both side borders and then sew both end borders. Looks like terminating the corners at the end of each corner she is going around the corner with one continuous strip. Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 The best way to fix this is to remove the outer borders. Then measure the inside length and cut the outer borders to fit the length. Sew the two side borders on by PINNING and easing and sewing very carefully not to stretch. After sewing the borders on the length, measure the width and cut the top and bottom borders to fit. Repeat by sewing the two top and bottom borders on by PINNING and easing and sewing very carefully not to stretch. VIOLA. Problem solved and quilt lays flat and ready for quilting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted August 22, 2017 Report Share Posted August 22, 2017 I've seen this but not quite as bad. I agree with cutting new borders. I can't tell how the top and side borders are sewed together. I'm also interested in following this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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