katquilter Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 Hi ladies - a question for George users - is there more tendancy for the quilt to stretch on a George than a longarm or a DSM? I quilt a lot of charity quilts - and sometimes a top that looks perfectly square ends up ripply after quilting... other quilts will turn out and lay beautifully flat. Should I assume the problem is the sewing on the top, or should I be thinking about what I am doing? I usually start with some basic SID and cross-hatching, then move to more decorative stitching. thanks for any feedback. Kathleen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 I would think this would be related to how you are preparing the quilt sandwich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 When I've had this problem I found out the stitching in one place isn't as heavy as in another right beside it. I've had to rethink design patterns to keep it laying as flat as I can. Rita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 I agree with Meg. Are you completely stabilizing the quilt sandwich before starting? Laying a top on the floor or table to scrutinize it before quilting doesn't always show the fullness that may be present. It only shows well when there's tension on the top. If you have concerns. put down a piece of batting and lay the top on it. After measuring the quilt, smooth and pin the outside edges to the batting. Smooth the center with your hands and you'll see right away if there are areas of fullness in the body of the quilt. Give those areas more stabilization either with safety-pin basting or maybe use fusible batting. Once all is stable, doing all your SID at once with isolate the wonky areas. Then use an appropriate choice of designs in those full areas to tame them. And as Rita advised, try to keep your density of stitching the same all along. After you've stitched/SIDed the whole top you can always go back and add some denser stitching in the chosen areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katquilter Posted February 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2014 Great replies, guys - thanks!!! Kathleen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaSteller Posted February 23, 2014 Report Share Posted February 23, 2014 It could depend on the way the quilt is pieced, too. I've had more than my share of quilts with setting triangles where the piecer just whacked a square in half diagonally and put those in her block edges. Even if you sew a border to that, it will stretch when you get it on the frame. You can starch and steam to stabilize a quilt like that on the long arm, but I don't know how you'd do it with a George. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.A Posted February 25, 2014 Report Share Posted February 25, 2014 As usual, good answers from both Lindas. Some of the problems might be caused by piecing, some by quilting…how are you basting? Also, I've seen so many quilts where the piecer or quilter just kind of gave up on the outer borders…a slab of fabric (not cut to measure) or quilting that is much less dense on the borders than on the other areas of the quilt. I get it, the outer borders are a lot of square footage but they need to have the same density of quilting as the balance of the quilt. Flat edges are important to me so I always attach extra wide borders (or extra fabric on narrower borders) for two reasons: I have something to hold onto as I am quilting the borders so I can stay in control. Also, I quilt (at the same density) for 2 or 3 inches BEYOND where I expect the binding to go. That way the extra fullness is pushed outside the lines I use to square the quilt & attach the binding. Yes, it wastes a lot of time and fabric but it always controls (or at least improves) how flat the outer edge lays. Nancy in Tucson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggy (SewAsylum) Posted April 25, 2014 Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 Linda, this may be a dumb question but how would you make a triangle for piecing, if not a square whacked in half? Yes, I am a newbie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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