How to handle bias quilt?

[fineseams]

I just took a quilt off the machine that had the blocks set on point, the fill triangles were cut so that the bias edge was the long edge, and it had no borders.

I did a full float, which was probably a mistake. I stitched a straight line across the top of the batting, marked where the edges should be,and pinned to that line. I marked where the edges should be on the quilt top bar, using clips set the right distance from the center on each side. I was doing an e2e, so I first pinned both edges with pins pointed horizontally, and then carefully basted down the edges and removed the pins. I did this on each roll, making sure I tugged or pushed the edges as necessary to keep them lined up with the marking clips. When the bottom of the quilt came up I pinned it out to the right width, and then basted it down and removed the pins.

The quilt came off flat, but as I quilted it I noticed that the panto seemed to drift a bit from right to left - which indicates to me that the quilt really wasn't quite square to the frame. It looks okay, but I'm thinking a full float was not a good choice, even though it appeared to be coming out right according to my left-to-right marks.

How do you all handle quilts with bias edges?

As a side note - I had done about 1/3 of a row when I noticed that somehow I had chosen the wrong starting point on the panto, and I had to frog out that part. I tried skinning it - I have read on this forum how to do it, but hadn't had to try it yet. It worked great! And I'm sure it went WAY faster than trying to frog it out stitch by stitch. I *thought* I had made one tiny nick in the backing, but after I took the quilt off the frame, I couldn't find it even though I examined it very closely.

I don't have much time to play with my millie, but I learn something important every quilt I do.

[chrisquilter]

Bonnie, would you be so kind as to explain "skinning " I tried to search it in the foums, but nothing came up. Thanks! Chris

[LadyLake]

Hi Bonnie,

I staystitch around the edges of quilts with bias edges or pieced edges on my regular sewing machine, before quilting.

[carolinequilts]

I get these all the time (bias edge quilts I mean). I float the quilt and sometimes use spray baste along the sides to lay them down flat. The quilts usually come out fine and my customers have never complained.

[fineseams]

Chris,

Bonnie Botts (username Bonnie) invented this technique. You can search for skinning with her username. There were several discussions about this about a year or so ago. Also, here is a utube video showing how to skin a quilt:

Good luck!

Caroline and Joan,

Those are both good suggestions - I've used basting spray before but somehow didn't use it this time as I have to deliver the quilt tomorrow and didn't want to still have that smell clinging to the quilt. Stay stitching the edges would probably have helped a lot. I'm glad to hear that you successfully can float a bias quilt. I'll just have to be more careful next time.

[Quilting Heidi]

I tell my customers to stay stitch that bias edge. It sounds like you handled it well. I don't ever fully float my quilts. I just have better luck doing a partial float. You do have to remember not to tighten down the quilt top too much though.

[jmcclannan]

I just finished a customer quilt that gave me fits. First, when I laid it out after she left I realized a square was turned the wrong way, so I called her. She came back and got it and brought it back a few days later with the square fixed. Once again I started getting it ready for the frame and realized the back was 6 inches short. I called her again and we decided I would use fabric I had on hand and just add that to her price. Soooo I put the quilt on the frame and realized very quickly that the borders surrounding large bias edges of trianges were way friendly! I wanted to scream! I ended up taking several little tucks in the border but I was one happy girl when I finally took that quilt off the frame.