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Loading Quilt by Width or Length?


gable428

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Posted

Me, too. I put the top border on the takeup roller canvas. When I finish the top border, body and bottom border, I turn it on its side. I am getting used to turning the quilt so the side borders are on the rollers. It means I can do the side borders as one continuous border instead of breaking it up as I quilt it.

Posted

If the quilt has no obvious "top" and it has a pieced backer, I load the backer with the seams horizontal to prevent any problems caused by creative piecing--that way no puckers. Then the top goes on to match.

If there is an "up" to the top, then up it goes! I try to never turn a top and if I am concerned about the side borders I will completely mark them from top to bottom. This keeps me centered and even.

One hint I learned in a class was if you know you will be turning the top to do the side borders, finish the corner-turn as you do the top and bottom borders. Then when you turn, the corners are done and you can fit the side borders between. I think Sally Terry offered this tip.

Linda Rech

Posted

Pantos: I will add to the already excellent advice given.

I know that some pantos, or many, are directional so if you mount the quilt sideways, your panto pattern will be quilted sideways (from top to bottom) instead of side to side, like it should be quilted if it has a specific direction. That would be something to consider, too, before mounting a quilt.

Posted

Each quilt is different, but I'd say about 60% or so are tope to bottom.

Like Linda, I find the seam in the backing and load that parallel to the rollers, to avoid sagging sides. Then the quilt goes on which ever way matches the backing.

Some quilts need to be loaded a certain way to get a certain pattern to fit, like Shana says, especally panto patterns. You might find that with some of the large stencils also.

Posted

Most of the time I load the short side on the roller.

However, occassionally I get a quilt with a block that will be easier to quilt by loading the long side on the roller. This usually happens with quilts that have rectangular blocks or sections that I want to quilt the entire section without rolling the quilt.

Debbi

Posted

Hi all!

First remember that there are probably as many ways to load a quilt as there are quilters, and as long as you're happy with the results, who cares how you got there! That said, here is some "food for thought" as you decide how to load each quilt:

[*] If you load the long side of a quilt on to the rollers first, you will be advancing the quilt fewer times than if you loaded the short side. Each time the quilt is rolled and re-tightened, you won't have exactly the same pressure on the quilt layers that you did in the previous pass. So you should check your tension before beginning after each advance.

Therefore, with the long side loaded first, you will have fewer tension changes, and you'll get more of the quilt completed without having to worry about it as often.

[*] The only real reason a quilt must go on with the short side first is if the pantograph pattern has direction to it. In other words, if it's a MeadowLyon pattern with lions and tigers, you want the pattern to be "right side up" when looking at the quilt.

However, if the pattern is more generic and is just a "design" then there's really no reason why it has to go on the quilt horizontally. You'll actually have an easier time blending rows together because there will be fewer of them. This makes it easier to camouflage your rows, because the eye wants to look left and right across the quilt to find the row spacing, and the "joints" between the rows aren't there. It looks as if you did an overall freehand design that is very controlled and uniform since the row spacing isn't obvious.

Of course, sometimes it's just too hard to look at a block "sideways" and quilt it--then a top to bottom load makes more sense.

[*] If your backing fabric has a seam in it that is "vertical" it will wrap around the roller many times as you load the quilt, causing a distortion in the center of the backing fabric, and "saddlebags" on each side of the seam. While there are ways to deal with this, by turning the quilt "sideways" to begin with, you are also turning that backing seam sideways.

When it's turned on its side, it will behave and will lay nicely along the length of the roller instead of wrapping itself around the roller.

[*] Another added bonus is that you will be dealing with the longest borders first, which are often the ones with the most "issues" when it comes to waves and ruffles. By taming them first, you won't have as much trouble with that border fabric wanting to "wander" down the sides of the quilt had it been loaded the other direction, resulting in "dog ears" when you get to the bottom of the quilt.

Bet you've guessed by now which way I usually load my quilts! :)

Happy Monday!

Dawn

Posted

Shana,

Good advice about the panto direction.

I once saw a lovely quilt hanging in our LQS. Beautiful fabric and pattern but something was not right about it.

On closer examination, I realized that the panto used was Chantilly Lace, it was quilted quite well. But it had been quilted with the pattern running up and down the quilt vice side to side. It looked weird. I'm not sure if a non-longarmer would have noticed it though.

Posted

I almost always load the long side. Since I have a Liberty with a smaller quilting "field" is is important to get as much quilted as possible with each turn. I also find with non-directional pantos, it is much harder to see the "rows" if they were quilted the length of the quilt...........

Posted

Thank you all for the great advice. The reason I asked is because I am quilting a quilt for a friend who wants a panto. She pieced the back so I need to load everything "sideways" because of the pieced back. The panto she has chosen is interlocking flowers and I was concerned that doing the panto "sideways" would look odd because I've never done it like that before. Thank you again everybody--I love this site:)

Gable

Posted

Mostly short side, works better if quilt is very wide, the small side fits always on my 12 foot table. Next to it I will have space to make doodles...

Sylvia Kaptein

Sylka-Mode

www.sylkamode.com

Posted

So far, I have nearly Always loaded the quilt long side on the rollers. As mentioned above there are fewer passes and the pantos we have been using (I am heavily partial to "Leaf Pile") look good this direction. To do the top and bottom borders I find it easier to turn the quilt. I am sure quilts will come our way that need to be done the other way and that is OK. As Dawn says, "there are probably as many ways to load a quilt as there are quilters" and what may be more important is what seems comfortable to the quilter.

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