shadows4 Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 I\'m sick over what I\'ve done to my quilt. For various reasons I decided to add borders to my Island Blue quilt. Now, in hindsight, I see why that was stupid. Adding unquilted borders to something already quilted couldn\'t work. When I quilted the borders, they shrank some and made the center bubble out. Does anyone have any idea how I can fix it without cutting the borders off? I tried to block it, just getting the center wet, but it only shrank a small amount. These pictures are of it AFTER it shrank some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadows4 Posted February 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 Here\'s another view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 Hi Jeanne, It\'s a beautiful quilt! There must be a way to get it back to normal. You mentioned wetting it...how much, and then what did you do with the quilt while it was wet? I\'ve wet blocked a few of my quilts, especially if I\'m entering them in show, or the fair and I fear they are not going to hang perfectly straight. It helps if it\'s a nice day---and here we are in the middle of winter. I spread a king size sheet out where I\'m going to wet block, usually it\'s on my outside deck, but I have done this in the middle of my living room floor too. You have to pin or tack the king size sheet (or whatever size sheet you need)--- down well because it is your drying base for the quilt and it should not move at all. Wet your quilt---and if you are able to do this outside I just lay the quilt on top of the sheet and spray it with the hose sprayer. But, I also have wet it in the washer with about 8 Shout Dye Catcher sheets---just in case there is any fabric dye migrating. No detergent, just get the quilt wet somehow, gentle rinse and spin dry. I gather up the wet quilt into accordian folds if possible to move it onto the sheet. Then I lay the wet quilt gently out on the sheet and start the process of measuring and smooshing, and gently moving the fabric around until it is square and flattening down. I pin the edges to the sheet that is underneath. Very close pinning. (thats why the sheet has to be secure.) Once you have done as much as possible to get the center or edges down flat and evenly squared---if you are doing this outside lay another flat king size sheet over the top so no bird droppings or whatever land on the quilt. Plus you want to protect it from the sun as well. If you are doing this inside then get a fan out that will blow across the quilt and help with the drying process. Important: Do not touch or move the quilt after you have it all flattened and squared for at least 24 hours or more. More is better. The quilt must be completely dry for the wet blocking process to work. I have had good luck with this process several times. There is more on this site about wet blocking: http://www.quiltuniversity.com/blocking.htm Good luck, hope this works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingupastorm Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 I would do exactly as Angie has instructed. I too will block quilts and the key really is not to touch them until they are bone dry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katiefly Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 I am no expert, so keeping that in mind... Blocking would be fine, but you would need to block it any time you wash it. If you don\'t plan to use the quilt, and put it on the wall, that would be fine. If you want to use it and be able to wash it, you will be happier in the long run if you take the boarder off. Since both are now quilted, you can adjust the boarder, either by adding on to it or cutting down the inner most part of the boarder, thus making it larger. then you can sew the two quilted pieces together. It will be a lot of work, but you will be able to use and enjoy the quilt without blocking every time you need to wash it. Katie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michelleslongarm Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 I love it. Beautiful colors. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheryll Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Bind it love it and it\'s beautiful. when it\'s on a bed it may smooth out. It\'s too pretty not to love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramona-quilter Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Jeanne, this is certainly a beautiful quilt, I love the colors and the quilting is lovely. No wonder it is your favorite. But do you feel that your favorite needs to be perfect? I\'m coming from the "quit while you are ahead" side of things. It is a beauty and once on the bed, like Cheryll says, love it. Angie, thank you for posting that wet block procedure. I have always wondered about the whole process. I haven\'t tried it. Does it make a difference if the quilt is blocked while hanging vertically on a wall (like Jeanne has it) or laying flat on the floor? I also wonder, like Katie asked, won\'t the quilt go back to the same fullness once it is washed again after blocking it? Or does the blocking process lock in the setting, much like vinegar-pressing locks in a crease? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Tell me again why you thought you needed to add the borders, I forgot Is this a quilt for you, or is it for something special, like say a show?? I was thinking there was a special purpose for this quilt...but lately have seen so many quilts they are all starting to look alike I have no idea how to fix it...I just wanted to say, you are not stupid....I hate that word...you are creative and you are having a glitch:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veg-girl Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Lay it on a bed, see what it looks like, then decide if you really need to do anything. If it is over a duvet I bet it will look OK. If not, unpick the quilting in the borders and just do SID around them which won\'t shrink it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadows4 Posted February 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Mary Beth: I like that: having a glitch! What if I seem to be having LOTS of glitches? Does that add up close to stupid? I was planning on entering it in MQS, but it is also the only one I\'ve made for me. When I started to bind it (without borders) some of the 9patch points were so close to the edge that the binding would have partially covered them. SOOOO.....I thought up this brilliant plan to add borders (1) because they would be able to take care of that problem & (2) because I thought the quilt needed something more. So what I ended up doing was ruining it for anything. It won\'t even lay on a bed right. Angie: Thanks for the explanation of blocking it. I have the same questions as Linda about blocking it on a wall and is that permanant or just a temp. fix? Like Katie said, maybe my only recourse is to cut the borders back off, and maybe figure out a way to reattach them. I don\'t think this will be hanging at MQS now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancingstitcher Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Jeanne - Could you undo the border where it attaches to the main body of the quilt? Just cut the border in half on each of the four sides of the quilt, rip out the thread back to within a few inches of each corner. Then you could add a medallion in the center of each outside border strip, like a keystone, then reattach it. You probably only need about an additional two inches and these keystones could be interesting additions., even on the back of the quilt. Otherwise you could put a down comforter on the bed first and make it look like a princess puffy bed. Your quilt is really pretty. Vicki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narink Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Jeanne, I had the same predicament a few years ago and wet-blocking really worked miracles. Also, I had a few stubborn poofy areas that I re-dampened and steamed with a very hot steam iron held about a 1/2" above the quilt. You can really accomplish a lot, though, with wet-blocking. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramona-quilter Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Hey, Jeanne, why not give JudyL a call. I know she blocks her quilts quite a bit. She may be able to give you some ideas. Calling JudyL....Quilting Emergency Call her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 She did that alread!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annettequilts Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 It is really so pretty...if you can live with not hanging it on the wall or hanging at MQS.... I would make myself a cup of tea, or pour a glass of wine and grab a good book and snuggle down under that gorgeous creation and say to myself, "wow, I made a darn gorgeous quilt". And then I would do the same thing every night until it gets too hot to do it! Its a beauty. The quilting is gorgeous. There are no quilting police except the one in your own head! It looks comfy and the colors are yummy. If you don\'t like it, I\'ll take it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 I see there are some questions about what to do after the wet blocking a quilt, and it lays flat---and it gets dirty, and needs washing. Since this is such a beautiful quilt, and a lot of work went into making it, and quilting it---I would consider Jeanne\'s quilt a "Special" quilt. For Special quilts I wash them on the gentle cycle, and I lay them out FLAT to dry. No dryers and no clothslines. It is almost duplicating "wet blocking" again, only a different level, no pinning and measuring this time. Just lay it flat to dry. If it\'s a baby quilt, utility quilt or a quilt you have gifted to someone, then more than likely it\'s not going to get any special washing unless you attach a care label (and they actually pay attention to it!) However, if you have any control over washing your quilt yourself, then do it gently and lay them out flat until thoroughly dry. In answer to wet blocking on a design wall or vertical space. It works fine for quilt blocks, but a wet heavy quilt hanging by pins on vertical space is going to damage the quilt due to the weight of the quilt working with gravity pulling it downward, and stretching the fabric, batting and threads. Flat out until completely dry is always best. On a side note. I noticed after showing a quilt top I\' had pieced several times---You know how you say "Look at my new quilt top I just finished" ---and you hold it arms upraised, holding the corner edges--maybe doing this a dozen times or more as you show to husband, daughter, son, daugther in law, sister, grandchild and numerous friends. The quilt top will actually change dimensions from this repeated holding and hanging by the corners process. It was \'square" when you completed piecing it, or took it down from the design wall. But all the "showing" pulls on the fabric and distorts it repeatedly. This is especially noticible on quilt tops with a lot of bias pieces. So, when showing just the quilt top, lay it out on a table, sofa or bed for viewing. Or don\'t show it until it\'s quilted at which time it has some stabiltiy against stretching. Glad to share this info. with all of you, as all of you have shared so much with me...hope it\'s useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewfriendly Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Have you considered just wetting your borders and stretching and blocking them to fit the center VS the other way around? Seems like it would be a logical next step. Don\'t give up! Christi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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