How do I keep my quilt square
 

My first few quilt projects have not hung straight and I am trying to
make sure my current project stays square. I have just now started
attaching the borders and so far everything is square and all of
measurements match up like they should.

What tips do you have for keeping everthing square during attaching
boders and quilting?

I think somehow the quilting on my last project caused the wavy way
the quilt hung. Is there a way to keep the quilting from causing a
warp in the quilt?

Jerry in North Alabama
http://community.webshots.com/user/MaleQuilter

How do I keep my quilt square
 

The best way to keep things square, if the quilt is square before
quilting, is to quilt at an even density; but, more than that, to keep
the quilting even, for as much of the time as you can. This is rather
difficult to explain (though I could show you in no time!). Suppose
your quilt is a piece of tartan with fairly evenly spaced red lines,
yellow lines, green lines and blue lines. You would quilt all red lines
first, then the yellow lines, then the green lines and then the blue
lines. This would mean that the quilt had no opportunity to get wavy.
You will have to translate this into whatever patterns you are going to
use; but, if you - for instance- put a daisy in the top left corner, put
the next daisy in the bottom right corner rather than top right ... and
so on, maintaining a balance all the time. If you are doing an all over
pattern, try to cover as much space as you can in one go eg a whole
diagonal rather than one corner.

Cut your borders from the length of the fabric if you can, do any
joining with a diagonal join. Measure across the quilt and from top to
bottom to get the length of your borders. Ease or stretch these
lengths, rather than just sewing them onto the sides of the quilt.

HTH
..
In message .com,
MaleQuilter writes
My first few quilt projects have not hung straight and I am trying to
make sure my current project stays square. I have just now started
attaching the borders and so far everything is square and all of
measurements match up like they should.

What tips do you have for keeping everthing square during attaching
boders and quilting?

I think somehow the quilting on my last project caused the wavy way
the quilt hung. Is there a way to keep the quilting from causing a
warp in the quilt?

Jerry in North Alabama
http://community.webshots.com/user/MaleQuilter


--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

How do I keep my quilt square
 

Do you measure frequently along the way -- to make sure you stay square from
the get-go?

How do you add borders? Chop off a piece... sew it on... then trim to fit?
Sure hope NOT! This is one of the easiest ways to end up with a quilt that
is very wonky (hee hee... a techincal term!). You should measure at at
least 2 (and 3 or 4 is better) spots on your quilt, then average the
measurements together (Hopefully they are the same... but rarely are they!).
Cut THAT length for your border... easing as needed.

My only advice is to measure.... measure... measure. Make sure each block
is square and accurate. Make sure each row is square and accurate. Cut
carefully and straight.

Sorry I don't have any magic answers.

--
Kate in MI
http://community.webshots.com/user/K_Groves


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"MaleQuilter" wrote in message
oups.com...
My first few quilt projects have not hung straight and I am trying to
make sure my current project stays square. I have just now started
attaching the borders and so far everything is square and all of
measurements match up like they should.

What tips do you have for keeping everthing square during attaching
boders and quilting?

I think somehow the quilting on my last project caused the wavy way
the quilt hung. Is there a way to keep the quilting from causing a
warp in the quilt?

Jerry in North Alabama
http://community.webshots.com/user/MaleQuilter

How do I keep my quilt square
 

One little trick that I use is to cut your binding on the crosswise grain so
it will have a bit of stretch. Lay the quilt out flat and- using small
safety pins- mark any areas that don't lay flat starting and ending about 2
inches from the wobble. When you sew on the binding (sewing the first round
by machine- not the final stitching) you can stretch the binding a bit and
it will make the tiniest of gathers and flatten out those wobbles. This
only works for small boo-boos.... large waves will need more intensive
treatment.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

"Kate G." wrote in message
. ..
Do you measure frequently along the way -- to make sure you stay square
from the get-go?

How do you add borders? Chop off a piece... sew it on... then trim to
fit? Sure hope NOT! This is one of the easiest ways to end up with a
quilt that is very wonky (hee hee... a techincal term!). You should
measure at at least 2 (and 3 or 4 is better) spots on your quilt, then
average the measurements together (Hopefully they are the same... but
rarely are they!). Cut THAT length for your border... easing as needed.

My only advice is to measure.... measure... measure. Make sure each
block is square and accurate. Make sure each row is square and accurate.
Cut carefully and straight.

Sorry I don't have any magic answers.

--
Kate in MI
http://community.webshots.com/user/K_Groves


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"MaleQuilter" wrote in message
oups.com...
My first few quilt projects have not hung straight and I am trying to
make sure my current project stays square. I have just now started
attaching the borders and so far everything is square and all of
measurements match up like they should.

What tips do you have for keeping everthing square during attaching
boders and quilting?

I think somehow the quilting on my last project caused the wavy way
the quilt hung. Is there a way to keep the quilting from causing a
warp in the quilt?

Jerry in North Alabama
http://community.webshots.com/user/MaleQuilter

How do I keep my quilt square
 

On Jul 5, Kate in MI said, "How do you add borders? Chop off a
piece... sew it on... then trim to fit?
Sure hope NOT! "

I sounds worse when you say it that way. (LOL)

I thought that if I cut my borders "over length" that I would have
extra in case sewing it on changed its length. I was careful to make
sure that opposite sides of the quilt center were the same length
before I started, and tried to sew the binding on with about the same
level of tension (making sure I did not stretch the fabric as I sewed
the binding on).

It sounds like that was all wrong.

Are you saying that I should cut the binding the average length based
on three or four measurements, match the ends of the binding to each
end of the quilt side, and then stretch or ease the quilt center or
binding evenly over the distance between the matching ends?

I know that was a long question. It's amazing the number of things
you do not know when you are a real beginner.

Jerry in North Alabama
http://community.webshots.com/user/MaleQuilter

How do I keep my quilt square
 

Yes -- measure in 2 or 3 spots across the quilt (both length & width) and
then cut your border strip to the exact measurement (average the 2 or 3 if
they are different.)

Then ease or stretch a bit so that you have your opposite sides the exact
same size. Otherwise... you could end up with opposite sides different
(even an inch or more) and if you are hanging the quilt... it will
definitely show. On a bed... not quite as apparent.

Good luck!

--
Kate in MI
http://community.webshots.com/user/K_Groves


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"MaleQuilter" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Jul 5, Kate in MI said, "How do you add borders? Chop off a
piece... sew it on... then trim to fit?
Sure hope NOT! "

I sounds worse when you say it that way. (LOL)

I thought that if I cut my borders "over length" that I would have
extra in case sewing it on changed its length. I was careful to make
sure that opposite sides of the quilt center were the same length
before I started, and tried to sew the binding on with about the same
level of tension (making sure I did not stretch the fabric as I sewed
the binding on).

It sounds like that was all wrong.

Are you saying that I should cut the binding the average length based
on three or four measurements, match the ends of the binding to each
end of the quilt side, and then stretch or ease the quilt center or
binding evenly over the distance between the matching ends?

I know that was a long question. It's amazing the number of things
you do not know when you are a real beginner.

Jerry in North Alabama
http://community.webshots.com/user/MaleQuilter

How do I keep my quilt square
 

Are you saying that I should cut the binding the average length based
on three or four measurements, match the ends of the binding to each
end of the quilt side, and then stretch or ease the quilt center or
binding evenly over the distance between the matching ends?

unfortunately that's not the way it works, if you cut the borders to a
fixed size, determined by the quilt top so far, not the pattern, then
make the ends match, you should get a better result.

You've not mentioned whether or not you square up after quilting. I was
taught to do it this way, though I've seen many instructions that say
trim backing and batting level with top. I've not made many quilts, but
so far they've all been flat and this is what I've done.

cheers
Anne

How do I keep my quilt square
 

On Jul 6, 5:19 am, Patti wrote:
The best way to keep things square, if the quilt is square before
quilting, is to quilt at an even density; but, more than that, to keep
the quilting even, for as much of the time as you can. This is rather
difficult to explain (though I could show you in no time!). Suppose
your quilt is a piece of tartan with fairly evenly spaced red lines,
yellow lines, green lines and blue lines. You would quilt all red lines
first, then the yellow lines, then the green lines and then the blue
lines. This would mean that the quilt had no opportunity to get wavy.
You will have to translate this into whatever patterns you are going to
use; but, if you - for instance- put a daisy in the top left corner, put
the next daisy in the bottom right corner rather than top right ... and
so on, maintaining a balance all the time. If you are doing an all over
pattern, try to cover as much space as you can in one go eg a whole
diagonal rather than one corner.

Cut your borders from the length of the fabric if you can, do any
joining with a diagonal join. Measure across the quilt and from top to
bottom to get the length of your borders. Ease or stretch these
lengths, rather than just sewing them onto the sides of the quilt.

HTH
.
In message .com,
MaleQuilter writes

My first few quilt projects have not hung straight and I am trying to
make sure my current project stays square. I have just now started
attaching the borders and so far everything is square and all of
measurements match up like they should.

What tips do you have for keeping everthing square during attaching
boders and quilting?

I think somehow the quilting on my last project caused the wavy way
the quilt hung. Is there a way to keep the quilting from causing a
warp in the quilt?

Jerry in North Alabama
http://community.webshots.com/user/MaleQuilter

--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

Hey! Just love all these tips. I have a great book which has 1000
tips all catorgorised, submitted by named 'famous' quilters, which is
a terrific reference book. This group must have written it!
My little tip - probably said differently above, is use the same
quilting coverage in the borders as in the centre. I see alot of
quilts where the centre is heavily done, then the quilter gets tired
of quilting and does little or nothing in a 4" border. It's never
goin' to hang straight.

--
Cheers
Bronnie

How do I keep my quilt square
 

Howdy!

First I square up the quilt top, then I measure for the borders
(if any), kinda' like this at the bottom half of the page:
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/Dumm...e/id-1791.html

Then I square it up again.
To help it Finish as a "squared" quilted quilt, I pin baste,
a lot, closely, carefully. Lots of basting, I don't want this thing
shifting. Baste, baste, baste.
I quilt from the center towards the outer edges in a spiral.
When I get to the borders I try to be very careful to
not stretch that part of the quilt when adjusting the quilt hoop
(I hand quilt); if I'm being extra careful I add an extra (wide) border
to the real border so my hoop hangs onto that extra fabric,
less stress & stretching on the quilt body.
After the quilting (& removing that extra wide border strip)
I sew a line all the way around the quilt to lock in my quilting stitches.
Kinda' like this, except I use the regular machine foot:
http://www.quiltuniversity.com/squaring_up.htm
Then I square it up again, just like this lesson at Qlt. Univ., sliding
a long ruler along the edge, with the table supporting the quilt body
so it doesn't stretch or pull off true.
I make plenty of binding, not measuring it too closely to the
quilt because I've already squared up the quilt before the binding
stage. As I sew on the binding I keep it a tiny bit tight, just to make
sure the quilt sandwich stays the same size/dimension, squared up.
This is what works for me. YMMV

It's that basting to keep the quilting even that makes a big difference
for me to have a "squared up" Finished quilt.

Good luck!

R/Sandy-- watching it try to rain, again, in n.Tx. -- glub-glub

On 7/5/07 5:20 PM, in article
, "MaleQuilter"
wrote:

On Jul 5, Kate in MI said, "How do you add borders? Chop off a
piece... sew it on... then trim to fit?
Sure hope NOT! "

I sounds worse when you say it that way. (LOL)

I thought that if I cut my borders "over length" that I would have
extra in case sewing it on changed its length. I was careful to make
sure that opposite sides of the quilt center were the same length
before I started, and tried to sew the binding on with about the same
level of tension (making sure I did not stretch the fabric as I sewed
the binding on).

It sounds like that was all wrong.

Are you saying that I should cut the binding the average length based
on three or four measurements, match the ends of the binding to each
end of the quilt side, and then stretch or ease the quilt center or
binding evenly over the distance between the matching ends?

I know that was a long question. It's amazing the number of things
you do not know when you are a real beginner.

Jerry in North Alabama
http://community.webshots.com/user/MaleQuilter

How do I keep my quilt square - Don't Measure!
 

Oooo, this in one of my favorite classes to teach because I know some secret
tricks! LOL! Even my beginning students get excellent results with this
method. Let me see if I can summarize it for you.
1) Before even trying to attach the borders, I fold the pressed quilt top
NEATLY in quarters, raw seams inside, checking that intended center spots
are really in the center. Then I line up the folded seams to both the
top/bottom and then to the sides. This gives me a quick check that my edges
are (within reason) roughly the same size as the center seams. I used to do
this with the quilt unfolded and they were just too big. The weight of the
big tops alone would skew the fabric too much to accurately check without a
table to lay the monster flat! The results I get with the 1/4 fold are just
as accurate. If the centers and edges are more than about 1/2" different
net, I go back and look at the piecing to see if something is off somewhere.
I do NOT proceed with the following steps if I am not happy with the overall
squareness of the top itself!
2) To attach the borders, I fold the quilt in 1/2 only, raw seams inside
again, and lay it across a flat surface so I can get to the center area.
Lets start with the sides, so fold the top to the bottom. This exposes 1/2
of the length of the sides. I fold each border strip in 1/2 also, wrong side
OUT and gently finger press to mark the center. (Note: Do each border strip
separately.) I lay the folded in half border on top and down the center of
the folded in half quilt top, carefully matching the center folds and gently
smoothing the border out to the edge of the quilt. You should now have the
folded smooth straight border, wrong side out, laying on top of and down the
center of half of the folded quilt top. (Tough to describe! Hope I was clear
enough.)
3) With the folded border on top of the folded quilt, turn back the ends of
the border where they meet the raw edge of the quilt top. Again, gently
finger press to mark these ends of the border. Do NOT trim the excess at
this point. Fold each border edge back separately, not as a nested group.
You have now marked the ends of your border.
4) Now take your border, with the folded 1/2 and folded back edges, and
bring each edge fold up to the center fold and gently press these 1/4 and
3/4 marks. Do each side independently again, not nested or wrapped around
each other! Your unattached border should now be shaped like a "W" or "M",
not a "U". You should now have a total of five folds in the border, marking
both ends, and the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 marks, measured exactly to of the center
of your quilt top! Set your two border pieces aside.
5) Do the same folding techiniques on your quilt top, starting right side
out and bringing the edges to the center. Don't forget to do the "M" or "W"
folding, each side back to the center. Your quilt top will have three folds
at the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 marks, and your raw edges are your edges! By folding
the quilt top RST and the border WST, your folds will automatically nestle
when you go to line them up for sewing.
6) To actually attach the border, place the quilt top and each border, RST,
line up the folds and pin as necessary. Ease in any minor size difference
between each set of 1/4 marks. There should not be many. You will find that
by leaving the excess fabric on the ends, it gives you a nice straight fold
to line up the edge of your quilt top to, which gives a more square result
at the corners as well. Sew with your usual 1/4" seam allowance. Make sure
to press your side borders as needed after attaching and then you can remove
any excess on the edges using a nice square up ruler.
7) To repeat for the top and bottom borders, repeat from #2 above, but fold
the sides together, including the newly attached side borders.

Where is the tape measuring you ask? Ha, silly boy! I don't need no stinking
measurements! LOL, Sorry, a little punchy here. Personally, I have found
that actually taking ruler measurements, writing them down, trying to divide
them, etc., was just a bunch of wasted time I didn't need to spend. Does
anyone really care if your top measures 37 and 3/16? Basically, if your
quilt top edges are within reason to the size of your centers, both
horizontally and vertically, and you have marked the individual 1/4, 1/2 and
3/4 locations on all of the sides to be attached, all will be fine. Your
borders will lie flat and your top will be square.

HOWEVER, you still need to follow the basic principles of matching your
center dimensions and evenly distributing any excesses. The above method
covers those critical points. Some of the worst problems I have seen with
borders is when they are not probably measured or marked. Even when you
think that the edges are the same length as each other, if they don't match
the center, (within reason) the borders will be wavy; if one quarter or,
worse one half of the border fabric shifts while being sewn, moving more
fabric to one end or the other, your borders will be wavy. Once you try the
method I have outlined above, I think you'll be flying through those
borders.

Good luck
Lorraine in La Center