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release loaded top when not quilting


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Hello Everyone,

a question just jumped into my mind: Do you release tension on a loaded quilt when you do not work on it for a longer time? days / weeks?

Will it do any harm to the quilt if I leave it under tension all the time? Just wonder, because it happened that I was not able to ppp for weeks with a loaded practice piece.

Thanks in advance for any input accomplished with many seasonal greetings from Switzerland.

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Hi Andrea

I don't see that it would do any harm at all if you have loaded it at the correct tension for quilting ie. not drum tight.

To check the tension, you should be able to pinch your left hand fingertip with your right hand fingers, when you have your left hand finger coming up from under the batting, backing and top - clear? Or looking under the quilt sandwich, your backing should not look stretched, it is OK to have a very, very slight sag in the backing fabric.

Sue in Australia

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I release the tension when not working on a quilt and take off the side clamps. But I mainly do this, just in case my Houdini cat gets into the room and decides to sleep in the "hammock". I have pocket, wooden doors that closes off the room and this cat has figured out to open them just enough to sneak in.

I am now trying to put something in front of the doors so he can't sneak his paw under the door to slide it open. We'll see how that works. The doors/house if over 100 yrs old and don't want to drill into the wood to attach anything to keep the door closed.

Char

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for your answers. I already released tension, but you never know what comes into my mind and I forget about that.. those senior moments you know....

And in case I forget about that, I need not to worry too much as I test to grab my fingertip through the sandwich. This was the first I remebered and have not forgotten until today.

happy stitching

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It's so nice to hear that someone else owns a cat hammock. I have three that fight over their favorite bed. For that reason, I have had to even put heavy towels on the top of the quilt and then hold them in place with the clamps. I don't quilt for profit for other people and I warn any friends that want a "favor" that their quilt will be exposed to cats. Gotta love 'em!

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Dara, the cat, sometimes scares me. When I start the preps. for quilting she rushes in and jumps right onto the panto-table. There she sits waiting for me to start the machine. When she knows how far I go with the head she moves closer; to be as close as possible! Then she lays down watching the moves and takes a nap.

So, she is on top of the panto-table and Muttley the Flat C. Retriever lies under it. I am never alone in one room (except one;))

Does anyones cat behave the same? She is VERY curious and any new noise, loud noise has to be examined.

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  • 2 years later...

I release the tension a little bit, but not so much for the quilt, as for my canvases. I noticed a considerable bowing in the center of my canvases (doing mostly twin & smaller quilts at the time) after the first year of quilting & always having a quilt on & taunt. I even trimmed them even again & put my zippers back on, but within a few months they were bowed again. So ever since I\'ve released my roller tension a little bit if I am going in for the night/weekend etc. BTW: now replacing my canvases with an outdoor canvas material that has a coating on it so that it shouldn\'t stretch as much, if at all.

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