top of page

 

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR QUILT TOP FOR

 

LONGARM QUILTING

In order to provide you with a beautifully quilted quilt I have some tips below that will help.

1) Please do not baste or pin your quilt layers together. This is not necessary as I will do that for you when I do the quilting.

2) Please do not add any embellishments (beads, buttons, etc) until after the quilt is quilted. These items can get caught on the hopping foot and cause damage to your buttons, beads or my machine.

3) Please check all seams to make sure they all have an adequate quarter inch seam allowance and are secure so that your seams will not come apart while I am working on your quilt.

4) Please press your quilt top and backing. If the backing is pieced, press the seams open with the selvages removed. Selvages are woven much denser than your backing and my pucker when washed. Please do not use bed sheets for backing. They have a different density than quilting cotton and you may not get a good result.

5) Please clip and remove all stray threads from your quilt top. Stray threads on the underneath can show through your light-colored fabrics and take away from the beauty of your quilt. Stray threads on the top can also catch on the hopping foot.

6) Please make sure the quilt top, batting and the backing are squared or even for the best result. If you are using packaged batting it should not need to be trimmed.

7) THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT

Please make sure BOTH backing and batting are a minimum of 6” wider and 6" longer (3" on all 4 sides) than your quilt top, after squaring your quilt. If you have a quilt  top that is longer than 90" please make sure your batting and backing is 10" longer than the top. Larger backing and batting are just fine. I need that extra to attach your backing to my quilt frame.

8) Please check your borders to see that they don't ripple  or wave and that they lay flat to avoid getting pleats or puckers during quilting.

Wavy borders, where the borders are fuller than the inside of the quilt are one of the most common problems I have seen over the years. This can cause your quilt to end up NOT square or having to ease excess fabric in when quilting. You can often tell that your borders are wavy when you iron your quilt top and the borders won't lay flat, but ruffle. As an FYI below are some ways to prevent wavy borders. 

HOW TO PREVENT WAVY BORDERS

​

1. Cut the length of your border on the length of the grain of fabric (same direction as the selvage edge) instead of the more stretchy cross grain of fabric.

2. Before cutting the length of fabric needed for the border take 3 measurements and average them.

    1) at top of quilt top, (about 4" from edge)

    2) at bottom of quilt top, (about 4" from edge)

    3) through the center of quilt top.

3. When attaching the borders, if the border seems to be longer than the quilt top, place the border against the feed dogs, If the top seems longer than the border, place the top against the feed dogs.

Thank you for letting me turn your

special quilt top into a treasured

keepsake.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: NO content of this website may be copied without permission of the owner of this website.

bottom of page