Saundra Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 This is the first time to ask a question on this site. I enjoy reading it each day. I have a Bethleham Star quilt to do for a friend. She had problems with the assembly and stretched some areas. The top 1/3 portion measures 74", the middle 1/3 measures 69" and the bottom 1/3 measures 72". How do I stretch or loosen the different areas to make the top look right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 Usually you can accomodate up to 1/2 inch with no problem. You are talking a difference of 5 inches on the top and 3 inches on the bottom from the center measurement. My advice would be to talk to your friend and see if she would rip and resew the top. I wouldn't quilt it when it is that out of porportion unless she was made aware of the problem and she said to quilt it without fixing it. She'll never be able to square up the quilt the way it is now. Hope all works out for you and her. Cheryl Mathre Stone Creek Quilting Sandy Hook, VA:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsbishwit Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 Send it back to her and have her fix it or if she doesn't want to fix it tell her you will not be able to quilt it for her. If you quilt it like it is you may get a bad rep for quilting even though it was the peicer's fault and not your own. 2 weeks ago I sent back a quilt because it was so out of whack (on point center medalian with bias triangles that were so beyond stretched out) if I quilted it there would have been large tucks within the quilts center. Joann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 A friend of mine who is a longarmer had a quilt that so out of whack by 9 inches. It was a trapezoid. She sent it back to her customer who fixed it. The customer just stitched without measuring the first time. the customer apologized for having such a large error. Cheryl Mathre Stone Creek Quilting Sandy Hook, VA It finally rained last night:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giftedhands Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 Oh, I feel your pain. I even had one customer ask me if I'd stretched it while I was quilting it. (I'm still trying to figure out how to do that). I even showed one customer that some of the blocks (6") were larger and smaller than 6", and she admitted that she did not measure the quilt before adding the borders. She took it for 2 months to fix it and gave it back to me. When I got it back on the frame, I called her and said "Sue, did you take the borders off and resize them?" (Oh, no, I didn't). I asked her "If I give this back to you, are you going to have time to re-do the borders?" Her response was, no she'd probably just throw it away. I suggested that I could do my best to finish it, but that the one side was going to be wider, and that she could probably put that end at the top and under the pillows, the rest of the quilt would look fine. She was thrilled, and handed me 2 more (almost perfectly square quilts) to finish for her. Perfection is not that important to some of these older customers...they just want it finished so it can be used, and after long consideration, I decided I cannot afford to throw away $100 or insult the few customers that I have right now. I'm not that rich yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltjunkie Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 I have one on the machine right now that is so bad I almost called the customer to pick up the quilt after getting it on the machine. The inner narrow border at the top was about an inch too small and has two more borders that are way too big. As I moved down, the outer borders kept growing. This is all custom work so I have decided that when I finish the inner section I will take the quilt off and turn and repin the sides to the leaders and hopefully be able to stretch some of this fullness out. I have taken pictures along the way to support the extra charge that will be added to the price. and the inner pieced blocks are all perfect. A lot of people have never leaned how to measure for borders. Oh yes this one has lots of 1/2 sq triangles against the border so they are bias .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltissimo Posted August 29, 2006 Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 I'm having this headache with a pieced offset asymetrical backing, one side being quite longer than the other. Hope I will find a way to manage that. :( It's so nice when you get a wonderfully neat, well-sewn, well-pressed quilt to work on, but not every day is sunday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saundra Posted August 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 Thank you so much for the suggestions. I will talk to my friend (customer) about fixing the top. Will let you know how this comes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judi Posted August 30, 2006 Report Share Posted August 30, 2006 Oh Hester - I feel your pain! Been there, done that! And I also took pictures along the way, it really does help explain. If I have to take a quilt off (Thank Goodness for Zippers) and fix a border / or bottom edge, I usually call the customer and explain, delay, time frame, price or cost. If it is a quick fix, I would rather keep the quilt here and just get it done. That just like if I am putting the binding on for a customer, I want to make the binding, no need to have more problems than necessary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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