Busy Quilting Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 I have an hourglass quilt loaded on my frame. 3 & 1/2" wider at the top and 2 & 3/4" wider at the bottom than the centre embroidered panels. I'm using Bonnies Starch and Steam, but it still may need a tuck or two as the fullness extends 18'' into the top and bottom of the quilt through 3 straight and 1 pieced border. Do I stitch all the wavy borders first? or should I stabilise, the inside borders of the embroidery blocks and the other pieced borders that are not as full, first. Thanks Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoryJM Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 I keep waiting for someone with more experience in this situation than I to jump in, but since they haven't... First, the obvious question...your customer does realize the dilemma you're facing, right? IMO, I would quilt in the normal progression...starting with the top border and working my way down. When they get their quilt back, its still going to be an hourglass, maybe not quite "Gina Lollobrigida;)," but still curvy. I'd be afraid to cause even more distortion if I did the inside first. Just my 2 cents...hopefully, someone else will post with suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 Lyn, I would let the customer know first and give them the option of fixing it. If they don't care then I would stich the normal progression. First stabilize and try to work in as much as you can. you might want to consider piano keys in that border as you will be able to work some of the fullness in more easily. Of course if you treated the borders differently and did a more dense fill on the top and bottom and less on the sides that would help suck up some of the extra too. I would load it and see how much you can square it up and go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyLake Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 I have pin-basted borders as I worked down the quilt, while stabilizing the blocks with SID. The most important part of the quilt sounds like it is the embroidered blocks. I'd make sure those are square and stabilized first, then piano key the border as Heidi suggested, and then go back and do the detail design work on the blocks. I charge extra for wavy borders if they don't want to redo them, because it becomes time-consuming custom work to deal with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smorris Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 Hi Lyn those measurements are a real challenge even for bonnies steam and starch method. I'd take the quilt off and get the customer to reapply those borders correctly. Sue in Australia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted September 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 Sue, I'd love to - but a "frail old pensioner" trying to get it done for a quilt show and me on a tight time frame about to visit the grandson again. Steam and starch has worked a bit and I am putting a tuck in the corners where the seams butt, it looks to be lying flatter. I'll have to work miracles again when I reach the bottom! If you hear SCREAM later it will be me falling off my perch. Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnCavanaugh Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 Lyn, If you haven't started quilting yet, you might try this: [*] Take the quilt off the frame (yuck, I know, but trust me) and mark your canvases from your center mark out in one-inch increments. Actually number the hash marks. Your center mark would be "zero" and then to the left and right of zero begin with the number "1" and continue to the end of each canvas. [*] Now measure the quilt's center (its narrowest point). Your goal is to ease in the borders when you load it on the frame so that the borders come out to the same number as the center does. [*] Choose a batting with some loft to fill in the excess border fabric. [*] When re-attaching the quilt top now, put the center of the quilt at the "zero" mark. Now for example, let's say your quilt measured 80 inches across its center, but her bottom border was 82 inches. The goal is to get that border down to 80 inches. So, divide 80 inches by 2 = 40. So that you can easily quilt the bottom border when you get there, try to pin the quilt on "inside" the outer seam allowance--say 1/8" in from the raw edge. After pinning the center of the quilt at "zero" on your canvas, move over to one side of the canvas and find the number "40" that you marked on your one-inch hash marks. Pin the quilt's edge at number 40. Go back to the other side of the quilt and do the same. You're forcing the quilt do the size you want it to be through pinning. Now start pinning on the border by "splitting the difference" between the quilt's center, and the outer edge you just secured at number 40. You'll stick a pin in the quilt and canvas around number "20". Continue splitting the difference between each set of pins (on each side of zero) until you've essentially eased in the entire border length. [*] Do the same technique with the top of the quilt. If you pin your quilts directly to your canvas, first smooth out the backing fabric and pin it every 8 inches or so to keep it smooth, then pin on the quilt top in the same manner, using the numbers you added to that canvas to ease in the top only (not the backing). [*] If you "float" your quilt tops, then first stitch your straight reference line across the backing and batting as normal, finding the center of the reference line in relation to the canvas's center. Measure out from that center point 40 inches left and right of center, along your reference line. Pin the quilt's edges at those points and ease in as before. [*] Pin baste the quilt sides. First smooth the fabric in the side borders by placing your palm on the quilt's surface inside the border, then move your hand straight out to the left or right, and pin the fabric in place where it falls along the side. If the side borders have fullness, you'll also see fullness when you pin. By moving your hand straight out, you're easing in the side borders as well. [*] Start at the top and stitch in the ditch between the border and quilt body to stabilize it. Use "Piano Key" quilting in the border to ease in the most fabric possible without getting pleats or puckers. (Piano key quilting is straight, parallel lines that extend from the body of the quilt out through a border to its outer edge.) While I am a "quilt turner" (I re-mount my quilts to do side borders) you can quilt the sides as you go, if you take your time. Stabilize the ditch between the quilt body and side border, then start next to that ditch and quilt out toward the quilt edge with the piano key quilting once again. Since the border has extra fabric, avoid the temptation to go "back and forth, left and right" as you do the straight lines, as this will cause the fabric to distort and "lean" as you quilt. Start at the border seam and work your way out with each line. (With practice, you can "drag" your thread from one line's ending point to the next starting point, and secure the beginning stitches next to the border seam with some tiny locking stitches before quilting out to the edge.) [*] When you reach the bottom of your quilt, don't remove the pins that hold the bottom in place on the canvas until after you've stitched the piano keys, or you will lose the "easing in" factor. If your pins are in your way, then you can carefully remove them (start in the center and do one pin at a time) and pin the quilt border directly to the backing fabric. Be cautious to keep the fabric eased in as you work. So long as your batting has some loft so that it fills in the full fabric between straight lines, you'll be amazed at how much you can "ease in"! You'll have to decide how far apart the lines should be, depending on how closely you quilt the body of the quilt. Typically lines that are 1-2 inches apart are sufficient to ease in the fullness. Good luck and post photos when you're done:)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollyrw Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 Another one for my favs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 In a class I took at MQX in April, someone shared another idea for wavy borders. As Dawn said, the piano key borders will be great, but this takes them a bit farther. After you do the piano key borders as usual, go back and stipple every other piano key - just fill them in completely with your stipples. It will give some additional interest and the stipples will really suck up some of the extra fullness. The alternate ones that are not stippled will puff out, as long as you are using a batting like Dream Puff, or something similar. Just a suggestion... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Have you discussed this with your customer, perhaps have her come over and see what your up against, and see if she can fix the borders? That would be my first choice. She may not realize how bad it is until she sees it on the frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted September 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Thank you for all your replies. I finished this quilt this afternoon and it is laying nice and flat and is even square. I did a full float of the quilt top. I have my pick up and backing rollers marked with 2" increments but I mostly use the self centering tape that I have taped to my levelling bar. I marked the batting with the width of the centre of the quilt using my mother's dress making 90 degree or L-shaped ruler, then pinned the centre and edges then eased in and pinned the rest of the top edge and side edges. Lots of starch and steam, I was also able to place a tuck under the 3" side borders which I covered with the piano key stitching at 1" intervals. As I got closer to the centre of the quilt I made the quilting less dense so that it didn't pull the quilt in. Then denser again as it went towards the bottom. After I finished the hand embroidered centre panel I rolled on the quilt to the bottom and did the easing in of the bottom border too. Don't have a webshots account so not able to readily post a pic. Thanks Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Wren Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Hi Lyn, Are you coming to Melbourne for Claudia's classes? If you are, can you bring pics of this quilt...I would loooove to see your fix! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smorris Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Well done, Lyn, that was nice of you to put in the work, hope the lady is very pleased with it. sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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