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SID first?


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I know this has been discussed before but I can't find the post. I'm about to tackle a king sized top that is going to have issues. Will it help to SID around the blocks and sashings for the entire quilt and then come back to quilt in the blocks or will I be creating a whole other mess by doing it that way. I float my quilt tops.

Thanks in advance!

Carol

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Carol, I like to ditch any of my customer quilts that might have issues if it is a custom quilting job. Obliviously you would not ditch an all over design, edge to edge or pantograph. Your goal is to contain any problem areas so they don't migrate into larger problems. When you ditch a quilt you also want to make sure the blocks, Sashings, borders etc, are straight. Good luck!

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Carol, 

Perhaps on this quilt you shouldn't float the top.  I would only SID each row as I go.  Sometimes I bast the section that is too full with thread or pins.  Just make sure the borders and sashing stays straight.  Be careful that you don't get a pleat.  Good luck.  I had one quilt that was off by 2 inches.  I called the customer and gave her the option of taking it back and fixing the issue or I could quilt it with no guarantee that it wouldn't end up with a pleat.  It came out well.  You can also sneak in an extra piece of batting under the offending area to help take up the slack. 

Missy

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Thanks so much for your replies! Heidi, I have always done it the way you described and there have been times when I've ended up with lots and lots of extra fabric towards the bottom of the quilt. I tried Sharon's method on a smaller quilt that was not square and it worked beautifully. There was still some fullness in the borders and the body of the quilt, but at least I knew what I was dealing with and did not have a big ugly surprise waiting for me when I got to the bottom border.

For too long, I had been loading quilt tops without closely inspecting them and just hoping for the best. When things would go south, I was left wondering if I did something wrong or if it was a problem with the quilt top. But no more. Now I lay out every quilt top on the floor and look for wonkiness. I measure across the quilt top at 2-3 points going both ways. I measure borders, blocks and sashing wherever it looks suspicious. Taking the extra time to do this has really paid off in lowering my stress and improving the finished product since I rarely get a flat, square quilt top. I don't hesitate to call the piecer if I think the borders need to be taken off and attached properly- and have happily given many free lessons on how to do this. Everyone has been very grateful for the call and the help.

Carol

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Carol,

 

Yes if the quilt isn't square then you definitely have to change the process.  In that case I would SID, pin the snot of that area, roll forward, SID, pin, etc.  You have to make sure you pin it really really well so you don't end up with pleats on the back.  I will also sometimes just baste things and then go back and SID.  That is a lot of extra work but if the customer is willing to pay for it to have a more square quilt then that is what I would do.  You definitely have to carefully evaluate the top to identify problems in advance.  I didn't do that one time and oh what a mess I had.  After that I always lay the quilt out and if I see puckers then I get out the measuring tape so I know how to deal with the problem.  

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