Lemon Tree Tami Posted August 8, 2014 Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 I need some advice. My mother, who's not a quilter, pieced a rail fence quilt in a class many years ago. She mailed me the top and wants me to quilt it for her. (She wants to be my first client but I'm not going to charge her. It'll be quilted as a gift to her.) Already I've repaired a few spots here and there where the seam allowances didn't catch the next piece and created holes. But while I'm pressing it I've noticed that most of her seams don't go in the same direction and twist at the next intersection. What should I do? Do I clip the seam allowance a bit so that I can press it flat? Just press it flat regardless of the twists? If I chose to unsew and fix them all I'd basically be resewing the entire quilt and I don't want to do that. It is her quilt and should be mostly her handwork. What would you do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted August 8, 2014 Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 Treat it as if it was a customer quilt.......... If it were a customer quilt would they be paying you to fix their mistakes. SO this will be an excellent experience of how you handle what may well come in the future. Its not going to get SID because of the wonky seams........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcclannan Posted August 8, 2014 Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 If you aren't intending to SID you can probably just carry on and ignore the twists. My customers who are new quilters often do this and it usually isn't as big a problem as you'd expect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixieqwv Posted August 8, 2014 Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 You wack those spots with a hammer. Lay it on a solid surface place a piece of muslin on top and then wack with your hammer. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Good luck and yea for your mother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted August 8, 2014 Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 Yes, in this case I too would just try to make them as flat as possible with an iron and quilt it....are you doing an edge to edge on it? If so, it will work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted August 8, 2014 Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 If they bother you or will be a problem when quilting, you can snip them so they lay down in both directions. It won't be a big deal if you stitch an overall design. I'm sure your mom will love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 Here's what I do.... I hit those suckers with a rubber mallet. Flattens the seams AND releases stress. WIN...WIN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wannabelongarm Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 I needed a good laugh at the end of the day, and ladies you did provide it! I was just going to say press the heck out of it to make it lay flat . . .then quilt it. But I love the hammers. Post a picture when you are done so we can see how beautiful it is! Joanne Flamand APQS Sales and Education, Canada www.artisticquiltdesign.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlnewell Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 I've heard of the "whack it with a hammer" several times. Doesn't that weaken the fabric, especially if the quilt is going to be washed and dried? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Quilting Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 I use my 3 pound sledge hammer at the ironing board on those thick seams or the ones that don't want to sit where I want them too. Iron the intersection lay the sledgie on the intersection and let it cool under the weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenslug Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 www.harvesthousequilting.com has a whacker to use on the seams of a quilt. And they have directions for using it properly. There are several variations of this item and my DH made me a whacker out of a left over piece of a stair rail. My grandmother had one and I can remember (that was a long time ago) her using it when sewing wool garments. Mine has a rounded top with an edge to grip, so makes it easy to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anniemueller Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 Whack that quilt! Sounds like a new carnival game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Anderson Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 I "whack" those stubborn spots to. I steam them and use my tailoring clapper to flatten them. June Taylor made lots of sewing aids for sewing, I think I have most of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Tree Tami Posted August 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 Thank you everyone for all the great advice. I'm going to press the quilt and see how it looks. I was going to try my hand at separate borders for it but now am thinking that a pretty allover would work better. Luckily the lightest color is a grey so I don't think there's too much of an issue with colors "showing" through to the front. When it's done I'll post it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheagatzi Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 If it's an all over and one of the seams is really bugging me I'll zap it with some steam and try and wiggle it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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