the end

[elkayr]

why is it that everytime i get to the end of the quilt, that's where all my problems begin?  the only thing i know to do is take a tuck   i always think everything is going to work out, but then i get that deer in the headlight look...& just can't figure out how i got there!  does that happen to anyone else?

[CindyT]

The times that I remember that happening to me was when I tried to float a quilt.  What exactly are you having problems with?

[sewingpup]

I am a newbie....I mostly have done just overall designs and not very dense....most of my experience was on my old nine inch and frame...but what I needed to do to not end up with a tuck at the end was to make sure that my sides of the quilt while I progressed were really pin basted out to the edge and were not beginning to pull into the center...I would try and make sure that the edge where staying in the same vertical position....I found that pin basting the edges worked better for me than stitch basting the edges down...not sure why....maybe try the next time you are doing a quilt to measure the width as you go to see if the edges are creeping into the center....I am assuming that the quilt is fairly square to begin with and that the borders are not very wavy to beginn with.....Lin

[meg]

Hi Linda...

I've had this problem a couple of times myself, and I'm not sure why either.

I float all my tops, and it doesn't always happen.

I use my channel lock for a straight line when starting out across the top.

Before stitching down the sides, I make sure the rows align with the belly bar as I advance.

And I scooch any fullness as evenly into the quilting space as possible.

And sometimes it still happens.

I think the times I've had trouble, it was due to poorly attached borders.

Could this be your problem?

(I can't be sure since I never measure that thoroughly before quilting.)

I know an excellent quilter who says, "the shape you give me is the shape I give back."

[Zora]

Read the thread "Is It Me"...it addresses the same issue.

[Darlene Epp]

I used to have this happen with almost every quilt. I always dreaded getting down to the last couple of rows! However, contrary to what many others do, I have started full-floating the quilt top, AND I've become a lot more careful when basting down the sides. I spent 3 days in Sharon Schamber's studio a year ago January and again this April. She showed how she bastes down the sides, AND explained WHY. In a nutshell, think of your quilting space as a huge embroidery hoop. Personally, I was having trouble because the backing, batting and top of the quilt weren't being tensioned at exactly the same rate as I advanced.

 

Sharon loosens the rollers so all 3 layers are LOOSE. The top and batting are just laying on top of the backing with NO tension on any of them. She then bastes down the sides for the next section of quilting, and THEN tightens everything up. What happens? ALL 3 LAYERS are tensioned at exactly the same rate. THEN the side tensioning bars, grips, clamps (whatever you use) are put on, making sure there is NO distortion.

 

By full floating the top, you can see right away that there may be problems. Using the Harbor Freight magnets, it is easy to keep the fullness where it originates within the top and deal with it at the source. I make sure the magnetic bars (18" long) are lined up along a seam line. If this means some fullness is above the bars, I know I have to deal with it right there. I always have my steam iron handy and can almost always steam it out. I use the Ruler Mate Base, which is always attached, as a small pressing surface so I'm not adding more stretch to the area.

 

Since I've been full floating and paying close attention when basting down the sides, and using the magnetic bars to keep the seam lines straight, I've had virtually NO problems when I get to the bottom of the quilt.

 

I hope that helps someone else as much as it's helped me. I've been longarming since 1997 so thought I probably wouldn't learn anything new. I was wrong! Sometimes the smallest tips can make the biggest difference.

 

Now, when I sell a machine, I usually order a Texas Hold'em with it, so the top roller can be taken off. I've done this with both of my machines in the last 4 years or so, and haven't looked back. I can tell you that "frog stitching" is a whole lot easier too! I just pull up my drafting stool, and pick away while listening to a good book on my iPhone.

[Oma]

Darlene...what is a "Texas Holdem"?  I float my quilts too, so on an APQS frame with four rollers...which one is considered the top roller?  For instance, while standing at the front of the machine and looking at it, you numbered the rollers 1 through 4 with the number 1 being the back roller which has the auto advance on it, then number towards you, which roller are you talking about? 

[meg]

oma -

a texas hold em is a brake system for the take up roller that works when you remove the quilt top bar.

i've been considering removing it since almost as soon as i got lola.

i never use it...it just sits there wrapped up with tape and honestly, it's in the way.

since im not confident in my mechanical abilities, and less confident in DH, i always worry the minute i get someone out here to remove, i'll be calling them back to put it back on.

$$$$

after reading darlenes post, i may have dave jones do it when he comes to install my replacement m&m wheels.

things to ponder....

 

edit....good lord, i've had to edit this twice just to say what i mean.

no wonder i m afraid to do anything to the machine myself!

[Darlene Epp]

"Darlene...what is a "Texas Holdem"?  I float my quilts too, so on an APQS frame with four rollers...which one is considered the top roller?  For instance, while standing at the front of the machine and looking at it, you numbered the rollers 1 through 4 with the number 1 being the back roller which has the auto advance on it, then number towards you, which roller are you talking about?  :)"

************

Hi Oma. The Texas Hold'em is a short partial roller that replaces the roller that you pin the quilt TOP to. Counting from the back, it would be roller #3. Removing it gives you a nice flat surface to work on. You need the partial roller so the brake has something to hold onto! Otherwise it would be hanging off the backing roller and would do no good.

[cathyh]

Darlene, where can I get a Texas holdem? I have been dying to take off that top roller since I started totally floating tops also.

[quiltlover03]

Thank you darlene for sharing.  i just printed this out and will give it a try as soon as I load my next Quilt.

[cegates]

Darlene,

Thanks so much for that explanation - I will try that technique on my next quilt. It answers questions that I had about the proper way to use the side clamps too.

Carol

[Bonnie H]

I, too, free float my tops in much the same way Darlene mentions. I bought the Freight Harbor magnets a year and a half ago and don't use them as much as I did in the beginning, but if a quilt needs to be held taut at a certain place to keep it lined up, I will use them and they are really worth having.

 

The only other thing I do is use painter's tape on my belly bar to show where the edges of the quilt should line up at, where each border should line up at, and also a few blocks throughout the quilt top.  I mark the bars with the tape when I first load the quilt, closing my nondominant eye and lining the edge of the painter's tape up with the edges of the quilt, borders, blocks. Then when I advance the quilt, it makes it easy to line the quilt up so everything stays nice and straight to the end. 

 

Here's a picture of a quilt I was advancing and snapped a picture of for my blog. It had two battings, a cotton and wool on top, and so was a little messier than usual when I advanced it. My frame is not an APQS and I can lift my belly bar and straighten and smooth the batting and quilt top. I don't know if you can do this with an APQS frame? But anyway you can see the painter's tape in the picture.

 

[cathyh]

Well, Bonnie that is a good reason to leave the top bar on!! Thanks for a good tip.

[Darlene Epp]

Cathy, Bonnie has a different roller setup on her machine, so her explanation of the "belly bar" doesn't apply to APQS tables. Another thing I like about removing the top bar and floating the quilt top is that I do have complete access to the batting.

 

The Texas Hold'em can be ordered from APQS. It's $49.95.

[elkayr]

Cindy, i do float my quilt tops. Lin, i will try pin basting the sides...so you measure across & make sure it's the same across & leave your fullness in the middle of the quilt? & yes the quilt top seems pretty flat to me...until "the end"

 

Meg, thanks for the tip about aligning the belly bar with the rows...i'll try that.  i did have one quilt with border issues at "the end".  it was a mitered panel quilt...omg! 

 

Lynn, i tried pulling up "is it me" & didn't have any luck

 

Darlene, i've never tried doing a full float on the top but will try that.  thanks for the Sharon Schamber tip.  i do have the magnetic bars.  my dealer did push the Texas Hold'em & i did purchase it when i purchased my machine.  & mine is taped up like Meg's.  i will definitely remove the top bar now & install my Texas Hold'em!

 

thank you so much for all of your tips.  it really helped me "visually" understand.

 

Linda

[elkayr]

just found the "is it me" post

[elkayr]

i just luv this forum...& this is the reason i bought a millie

[sewingpup]

RE: So do you leave all your fullness in the middle of the quilt?

 

What I have  noticed is that sometimes my edges start to go inward toward the middle so I pin baste them to keep them in the right place...sometimes I have noticed that one edge will start to develope some fullness in it (I am thinking after being on this forum, that my frame on the little machine might have been "racked" and the corners of the frame were not square) and rather than smoothing the edge at that point...I would make sure it was pin basted so the edge would be lined up with the rest of the quilt both vertically and horizontally so that I would work in the fullness as I went so at the end of the quilt, I would not have pulled the quilt out of shape and had all the fullness to deal with at the end....I have a tendency to smooth all the fullness out while tugging and pulling on my quilt...even stitching the edges down to baste resulted in my giving a little tug on the edge so my stitching would be nice and smooth...until I reached the end or took it off the fram...then the fabric would do like fabric does and try and go back to its natural shape ....yikes!  I also have almost learned not to stretch my fabric when piecing by letting my machine do all the work....I just have to gently quide everything instead...back to the quilting...yep, sometimes I have a bit of fullness to work with...but it is easier to deal with it as I come to it rather than accumulating it at the end...so I try and figure out what it is that I am doing to create the fullness...sometimes it is the piecing and sometimes it is me "arranging the quilt" on the frame.. Lin

[Anniquilter]

I don't often float my quilt tops but I do make sure the three layers are loose (un-tensioned) before I baste down the sides. I worked this out the hard way. 

 

I use a centered tape along the front edge of the machine just in front of the # 2 roller (the one the quilt top gets attached to). This tape has moveable markers so you can mark the edge of the quilt and border seams etc.  I line 1 marker on each side with the edge of the quilt at it's narrowest width which is easy to spot as you roll the top onto the # 2 roller when loading.

 

I think I got this tape from Sue Schmeiden - Quilting Connections.

 

I will try and load a picture - this quilt was particularly distorted and almost ended up with more tucks than quilting. It was the 2nd of 2 identical quilts - her first 2 quilts - and I don't think she had been taught about 1/4" seams or pressing or anything. They both looked square when finished and from a galloping horse, you couldn't see the tucks

 

 

Can't load picture.  Message says file too big but I shrank it to under 400 x 300???

[cathyh]

Yeah, Darlene, I realized that after I wrote the post and them really looked at her setup. I am going for the Texas Holden bar and just get rid of the top bar that I do not use anymore.

Your description of how you full float a top is very helpful, thanks!

[Terri C.]

Does anyone have a picture of the magnetic bars your talking about?  I don't believe I've ever seen them and I just can't figure out how your using them.

[chickenscratch]

Since this topic came up I have started on that custom quilt.  It is important that is stays flat and square, so here is what I've done. This might not be the best of the easiest method, but it has worked so far.

 

I full floated it. I pin basted the crap out of it  I know there are at least 250 pins in it. THen I giant meandered the whole thing to nail it down.  Because I'm having to constantly roll it back and forward I was worried about things shifting.  It is staying square, I'm just worried about getting a wrinkle in the backer from all the rolling. I'm really having to watch.

[cathyh]

I do a lot of rolling back and forth when doing custom work, and it usually takes me more than a week to do a quilt, even a wall hanging, because I rarely quilt at night and I work all day.

If it is rolled up for all that time I can get some major wrinkles. I recently discovered that It works to unroll it out to the borders when I am not working on it to keep the inevitable wrinkles from becoming worse.

Teresa, I tried pinning pinning pinning, and just bled a lot!!! Do you use safety pins? if not, what is your secret to staying bandaid free ?LOL

[chickenscratch]

Cathy thanks for the tip about unrolling when not working on it.

 

I have the yellow head quilters pins in it... an entire new package, plus some. I have been removing some as I've worked on an area, but I am so afraid it will shift.  I knew going into it that I would have to roll and unroll because the blocks are so huge and my machine is so small.  Yes, I have been poked and scratched, but minor. Only one needed a bandaid because it kept bleeding. (hope I didn't just jinx myself)