pin basting

[Judith T.]

I have tried to get an answer to my problem with no success. I will give it one more try and if no response, I guess I will have to try to figure it out on my own.
I am working on charity quilts and enveloping them to avoid putting on a binding. I pin baste and after quilting, I still get a lot of puckers and everything is pushed to one end. I have started leaving the end open and topstitching it closed after everything is finished. I am placing the pins about a hand width apart. What am I doing wrong? thanks in advance. Judy in AZ

[Teri L.]

When you put your backing down, do you pull it fairly taut and either pin or tape it to the floor (or table) before you pin it to sew?

I would
1) make sure I'm pinning fairly closely for both closing the quilt and pin basting;
2) use cotton batting and press the edge/seam making sure that everything is even along the seam and lined up well
3) pin and then edge stitch using a zipper foot to get right along the edge
4) pin baste on the floor or on a table where I can check to see if it's smooth on both sides
5) if I have to pop a few stitches smooth out the fabric and re-stitch.

Let me know if you have further questions, you can email me directly.

Teri

[Judith T.]

Thanks, Teri. Since it is enveloped, I hadn't pinned the backing to the table as it is all one piece. I just tried to smooth it as I pinned. I will try these suggestions and if all is lost, I guess I can always tie it. Judy in AZ

[Judith T.]

Judy

I pin all my quilts on the carpet floor surface and I use lots of pins. Taping the back down has never worked for me,'I got the same results as youre talking about'. So I started pinning my backs down into the carpet with special pins for this. I pin about every 3 inches. The more you pin the better. I pin from the middle out on all four sides,smothing out any wrinkles as I'm pinning.

make sure your backing is 3-4 inches wider than your complete top on all four sides.
Pin your backing down into the carpet with pins every 3-4 inches on all four sides
lay batting on top and cut exact to the backing and smotth out all wrinkles.
Lay your top on the batting in the center of it all,sit in the middle of the quilt and pin every three inches apart moving from center out on all four sides smoothing wrinkles out taunt while pinning.
Now thats depending on what size quilt you are making. You would do it in the same manner but a baby quilt you wouldn't need to sit in the middle to pin, You would be able to reach the areas!

This is how I pin my quilts and I have had great results. For some people doing it from tables is much easier- standing in stead of sitting,its easier for me this way then Pinning them on tables- I couldn't stand that long or reaching over the table. I think they have clamps for doing this method on tables now-I'm not sure.

If you don't want to add a binding you can either turn the hem inside under about 1/2 inch and pin and do a stay stitch around the edge or you can turn over the complete edges to 1/2 inch twice then pin and sew along all four sides.
With amy bindings I don't pin but I usually sew my quilt edges 1/4 inch around complete quilt before adding my binding ,this helps or I will sew the raw edges.

Good Luck with your quilt. Let us know how its all working out for you.
Kathy

[Judith T.]

I wouldn't try to machine quilt a quilt that I had enveloped. It just doesn't work. I would hand tie it or machine tack it every few inches with a zigzag back and forth.

Pat in Rockport, TX

[Frances L.]

Judy,
I do my charity quilts the same way and sometimes get small puckers in them. I usually put the batting down first, then the backing right side up, then the top right side down. Make sure that everything is smoothed out then pin it every couple of inches. Hopefully this helps you out.
Frances

[Frances L.]

Does enveloped mean that you have already sewed three sides closed? " I don't know what enveloped means, I'm so sorry". Is it sewed like a pillow case on three sides then quilted? Like a quillow is done?

[Judith T.]

You lay down the batting, like Frances says, top and back. Next, you sew around the edges leaving enough room to turn it inside out. I usually leave one whole side open. Then reach inside through the hole, and turn it inside out and smooth out the corners and edges. Now you are ready to pin it for quilting. You have one unfinished side after you are done to turn under like a little hem and topstitch it down. It is made like a quillow , I think. So you can't prepare it like you would do a standard quilt. I am sure this is clear as mud. Thanks for everyone's advice. Judy in AZ

[Judith T.]

Try that Sharon Shambers method with the wood rods/ boards. Once you envelope your quilt and backing. Pin into the wood. or tape the far ends to the board to hold taught. That should hold the quilt taught so you can pin it straight. Aligning all the layers. Unroll the layers as you go along and pin or baste.

I have been doing this more and more and found that it works out pretty good.


I have also done some spot quilting on charity quilts to anchor everything down when I do charity quilts. I use the twice quilted method. I use the embroidery machine to spot a nice design all over the quilt or at random... then I quilt a vine or rambling pattern in between ... comes out nice and the embroidery machine does most of the work while I do something else. I use a simple open quilt design instead of a compact dense embroidery design.

[Judith T.]

Thanks, that should work, too, taping it to the boards. I have used Sharon's method and like it. Judy in AZ