border quilting problem

[Teri L.]

Does anyone know how to stop the fabric shifting on a quilt when its time to quilt the borders. I have tried many ways of quilting and by the time I get to the borders, the fabric has shifted and I get folds when I quilt. In my current queen-size quilt, I first safety-pinned the quilt about every four to six inches. Then I machine basted diagonally across each individual block using wash-away thread. I started machine quilting from the center out. Everything worked fine until I got to the outer blocks near the border. Close to the border the top fabric started to bunch up. Any suggestions? Jan

[Teri L.]

It is a common problem you have! Remember that the area that are quilted "shrinks"....the heavier you quilt the more it "shrinks" :shock:
I slow down the quiltingspeed and will manipulate the fabric so it will be quilted without any puckers :wink:
OR....better yet...I have stopped to cuilt from the senter out :shock: I will quilt lenghtwise...seems like it solves the problem even though I am using a domestic sewing machine!

Hope others have some ideas for you too!!!

Smiles from Hanne-Grete

[Teri L.]

Are you stabilizing the entire quilt first? By that I mean quilting in the ditch between the blocks, and the border. If you quilt heavily in one area and nothing in another area, the quilting takes up the fabric, leaving the unquilted area puffy. Try quilting more evenly over the whole quilt, borders included before going back and doing the heavy fill-in work.

[Teri L.]

Jan, not wishing to insult you, but did you measure your border fabric to fit your width and length, or just sew it on and cut it off? You can get wavy borders with the latter method, and that will give you wrinkles. Have to admit, that I have done that in the past, but have learned my lesson the hard way.

Maggie in E. Central Illinois, where everything is covered with ice this morning........wish I could just stay in, but, alas, may have to venture out (of course the dog needs a walk to do his duty!)

[Teri L.]

Thank you. I think my problem is that I haven't stabilized enough. I thought that a quick two diagonals in every block would be enough. You have all given me help. Thank you. Jan

[Teri L.]

I found that, when preparing to baste the quilt sandwich, making sure that both the backing and the top are stretched smooth and fairly taut helps prevent future problems. I put pins every 4" or so, & use the smaller (1") pins, which hold more tightly than larger ones.

Stabilizing well can help. It *seems* that diagonal quilting in each block would be enough, but apparently it wasn't in this case. I've done queen-size quilts with NO stabilizing aside from the basting pins; I just quilted from the center out to the edges & had no problems.

As Maggie suggested, it may be that your quilt wasn't quite square before you put the borders on, and your borders weren't even. This will give you a little "wave" before you even start quilting. Flat is good! Follow Maggie's suggestions in the future, if you haven't done so in the past.

If you do run into a situation like the one you describe, you may need just to adjust the basting pins before proceeding. This isn't against the law, and may help. But, if you have a lot of excess fabric, this won't solve the problem. If you have a busy fabric (or even if you don't), you can often quilt in a pleat or two to take up excess fabric; the pleats won't be obvious in the final quilt if you do them neatly.

Good luck!

[Teri L.]

I'm glad someone else is having this problem. So my question is, if you diagonally sew across your border, do you take this thread out afterwards?? I was hoping to do a cable on the outermost border and I'm finding that the outside edge is giving me the problem. Do I baste this edge also? I"m a bit confused and frustrated! Thanks!

[Diane O.]

I don't have an answer to your question, but if you need to baste your quilt, and take the stitches out later, use wash away thread. That way, you don't need to pick out the stitches, they will just disappear when you wash the quilt. A lot less time consuming than picking out the basting stitches.

Diane in Colorado Springs

[Cheryl F.]

I think it is the stabilizing also. Good luck and let us know Cher

[Cheryl F.]

Hi All,
In addition to pin basting, I typically use a basting spray. I have found this really help minimize shifting and reduces folds on the back. I find this expecially helpful when I'm stuffing a large quilt through my domestic sewing machine. All that folding and stuffing and pulling can make fabric shift, and the spray basting is another line of defense.

Make sure you're careful when you use this spray. You don't want to use it in a really confined space. I typically lay up my twin size quilts on my queen size bed. I make sure the ceiling fan is on and I make sure the AC is running too (even if it's only on "fan only").

Sharon

[Cheryl F.]

Thanks for the tips and support! I have now sprayed the borders with 505, pinned the heck out of them and have the stencils made. All I need is a day to start sewing! It's so close to being done and I can't seem to find the time to get at it. Hopefully all the spraying and pinning will work. I think I do have some water soluble thread, but I think it's pretty old. It's not something I have seen locally, so may have to look on line for some as I think it would be very helpful as well.

[Carolyn T.]

Laura - Bob the Thread Guy just put up a blog in the Member Blogs about Superior's new water soluable thread called Vanish. This would be my first choice of thread in addition to pin basting. Good luck. Carolyn - Kerrville, TX