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Squaring up a Quilt


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Hi everyone...I\'m always looking for a better way to do things and am wondering if there is an easier way to square a quilt now that I\'ll be getting a longarm and starting a business. Its one thing if my quilts aren\'t perfect...but I want the customer\'s to be as perfect as possible.

Any help/opinions will be appreciated.

Dorothy Miller

Crazy Horse Quilts - by a horse-crazy quilter

Quincy, CA

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Hi Dorothy,

Wow, there are a lot of us horse crazy quilters out there. I had tea with two of them yesterday! Where is Quincy?

I found two great videos on squaring up a quilt back on youtube. They are by lalawson11658 She has one showing how to square it on a tabletop and one using your machine (impossible to me) :)

Jen

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Hi Dory,

Is your question about squaring up the "topper" or the "backer" fabrics?

If it\'s the topper part of the quilt, and it\'s "wonky" (not pieced or pressed accurately) and the borders are wavy or you have a Dolly Parton quilt like I recently had, then you can use Bonnie\'s Fabulous Steam Method (also known here as BFSM) to help reduce the bumps. For wavy borders you can do a large "piano key" quilting that is perpendicular out to the quilt\'s edges. That seems to work for borders. And/or you can do large meandering quilting all over to help avoid stitching in tucks as you go.

If it\'s the backer part of the quilt that needs to be squared up, the way I square up is tear all four sides so it\'s straight on the grain. Then I pin this to the leaders. I usually don\'t have a problem with wonky backers if I square it up this way. If it\'s a pieced backer that was done by someone else, hopefully they squared up their pieces before sewing them together.... Otherwise the backer might be wonky and you will have to fudge a little to get the backer to go on straight. That\'s why it\'s always good to have at least 4" minimum larger backer on all four sides (4" from the top, bottom and sides) than the top so you have a little wiggle room if it\'s not square.

Does that help to answer your question?

PS: I see you are a "crazy horsey person" what types of ponies do you have??? :)

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Thanks, Jen. I\'ll check them out.

:)

We just drove through Gilroy on Friday. I\'d been to Cheryl Uribe\'s to try out her Millie, then to Watsonville to pick up my DH\'s motorcycle, then back your way and up I-5 to home. We\'re up in the Sierra\'s between Reno, NV, and Chico, CA, on Highway 70. Its beautiful up here and yes, I do love my ponies.

Dorothy

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Hi Shana...

I\'m just trying to get my head around squaring a quilt for quilting and what tools make it easy and help you know its square. I\'ve never had this issue when doing my own quilts on my Janome, but something about doing a customer\'s makes me really nervous!

Your suggestions make sense...guess I\'ll have to wait and try it when my Millie gets here. Wow, that\'s the first time I\'ve "said" that outloud. Scary...very scary.

Yes, I\'m definitely "horse crazy." Currently we have 5 horses, well, 4 and a 6 mos old filly. They are mostly Arab since we ride endurance (distance horse riding sport--usually we compete in the 50 mile rides). I\'ve found that horses and quilting are very complimentary. We can feed early, then I quilt, then we ride and feed them dinner, then I quilt. Are you sensing a pattern here? My husband does--he remembers when I used to cook! :P

d

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Hello and welcome, Dory,

What great fun you have in store!

When you are ready to load a top for a customer, measure it carefully and note any discrepancy in measurements. You can carefully control a certain amount of un-squareness as you quilt.

Load straight (there are lots of threads on loading--either a partial or full float or pinned to the leaders--do a search for lots of info) and check carefully as you advance.

I mark the position of the sides of the top--both at the edge and at the first border seam--with tape on the top roller leader or with a water-soluble mark on that canvas. As the top is advanced, make sure the edge and seam lines stay on those marks.

BTW, it is easier to quilt in fullness rather than stretch out the fabric to match the marks, so place the marks at the narrowest measurement down the sides. Did that make sense?

Pins are your friends (a direct quote from Shana!) and do wonders to hold in fullness as you stitch.

To relieve your mind, you cannot do miracles! Don\'t expect to square someone\'s wonky top on the frame as you stitch. If the top is way off, write down all measurements before you start and maybe take a photo (?) if you can. This is insurance for later. If your customer has concerns after quilting, you can show her your pre-quilting measurements and also how you tried to control the extra fullness with your quilting.

Breathe and have fun as you learn and grow your skills!

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After the quilt is quilted, to square it up I use a the fold up cardboard measuring thing with the inch lines on it. 68 x 36 inches, I square up the quilt by laying it down on the white side with the lines in it, using the inch guide lines to trim up the edges....I put in pins, right through the quilt and cardboard to keep the quilt from shifting, sometimes I use masking tape to hold down the quilt if its real large....As for squaring up on the frame, I\'m using a wall laser for the vertical and my channel locks for the horizontal, depending on the quilt size....these new lasers are very cheap:cool:;)

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