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I am sewing my quilt together and I have pinned it to keep the pieces together. My quilt is basically a rectangle with a few borders on it. As I’m sewing the rectangles (all clockwise) it seems to be twisting the fabric. It’s a fairly large quilt, so going counter clockwise isn’t really an option.
My machine is old (my grandma’s) and I’m wondering if the machine isn’t feeding it through properly. Or maybe I need to straight pin each rectangle first? I don’t know what I am doing wrong, I can just come up with more ideas, but I hate to test each one and just make it worst.
I’m trying to do this for Christmas (late, I know)Please help!!!
By: Trudy on December 19, 2008
at 8:23 am
Trudy,
Merry Christmas, and I hope I can help solve you problem.
1st I need to know are you sewing on borders? or quilting the layers together? Top, batting and backing.
I am assuming you are doing the layers. So I will answer with that in mind.
When sewing layers together you need to be sure your pinned well(about every 3 to 4 inches) This prevents the layers from slipping
Next if you have a walking foot or even feed foot you should use it. This foot is designed to help feed the top layers of fabric while the feed dogs work on moving the bottom layer.
If you do not have that foot, then you will need to loosen your presser foot tension and work very slowly. Do not push or pull the fabric faster than you are sewing. Try to keep things moving at the same speed.
Another area of trouble can come with how the quilt is supported. If you have a large enough table to support the quilt that is preferred. I like to put the table up against the wall so that the quilt does not hang or fall off the table. I also suggest putting a small table or even using the ironing board at the same level as the table to help support the quilt. When the quilt hangs, it drags and the machine can not pull all that weight properly through.
It sounds to me like the layers are not feeding properly. It is difficult to answer accurately without seeing your set up or seeing how you’re quilting. I hope that some of these suggestions will help you out. Good luck.
One last suggestion, try searching on http://www.youtube.com for videos on machine quilting, they may help.
By: Chris on December 19, 2008
at 12:47 pm
[...] quilting Questions Here is a question that was posted in my comments section today in the “Online Quilting Help” section of this site. from Trudy. I am sewing my quilt together and I have pinned it to keep the [...]
By: Answers to your quilting Questions « Online Quilting on December 19, 2008
at 2:14 pm
Happy Christmas!
I have a question. I am quilting a flannel panel for a baby blanket. I am rather new to quilting but want to add a little ‘flair’ to the giraffe. I want to ‘thread paint’ the mane on the giraffe and other than using a zigzag stitch on my Babylock Quilting Machine, I cannot think of a way to add the mane. To me a zigzag stitch is too even. (Please note, I am relatively new to sewing and all I have done is quilt so far – piecing, mostly straight stitch quilting, and embroidering names).
Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated.
Mary Jane
By: MaryJane on December 26, 2008
at 11:29 am
Mary Jane,
Thanks for your great question and for stopping by my blog!
Your question is not an easy one to answer, but I will see what I can do. Look for my blog post addressing this in more detail later in the week. It will be under the “quilting questions and answers” category listed at the bottom of my main page.
Answer:
First of all if you are planning on “thread painting” you need to do this before you layer the quilt.
Secondly you should use a stabilizer on the back of the area you plan to thread paint. I recommend a fusible one or water soluble one. After it is stabilized you should lower the feed dogs on your machine. If you have the ability to use a hoop that will help as well. But you can do this without a hoop.
Now you can basically draw in the mane on your animal by moving the fabric back and forth or up and down. The trick is to move the fabric at the same speed as you are sewing. Do not pull the fabric or push it faster than the machine is sewing you will get poor results. If you are not sure how this will look, I suggest taking a scrap of flannel fabric and practice first to get the feel of moving the fabric without the feed dogs.
You can build layers of different thread colors to add depth to the design if you like. Just color the darkest layer loosely then start to fill in with the second and or third colors until the area is filled the way you like it.
An alternative to thread painting might be to cut a narrow rectangle of flannel in brown or yellow then cut thin strips (like fringe) Leaving enough to sew onto the panel. Then attach it by machine or hand.
Hope this helps!
By: Chris on December 26, 2008
at 4:09 pm
[...] Online Quilting Help Posted by: Chris | December 26, 2008 [...]
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at 5:05 pm
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at 5:18 pm
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By: Beginner quilting lessons « Online Quilting on March 4, 2009
at 8:18 am
Iama quilting a diagonal quilt with point on point triangles. I am a beginner and misunderstood what my friend said to do and joined all block together and then struggled to sew on triangles. This I was told could be rectified by opening seams on quilt and fitting them in. This works well however I am handicappped and my hands cannot sew these opened seams. Could you advise if I should get some assistance in this. Thank you. Linda
By: Linda Griffin on March 11, 2009
at 4:33 pm
Linda, I sent you an email with detailed instructions on what to do with this problem.
Unfortunately there is no way around the ripping out of seams on this one.
Normally you would add the triangles as part of the rows. This avoids having to try and fit them in at the end.
By: Chris on March 13, 2009
at 2:35 pm
in I need l yard of quilt fabric and it is sold in meters how much of the meter do I need
By: sue walton on June 8, 2009
at 5:02 pm
Great question! and here is a site that offers help.
This link is for Yard to Meters
This link is for Meters to Yards
Hope this helps!
By: Chris on June 9, 2009
at 6:28 am
would you please explain how to do ’seam-covering’ strips on the back of the quilt that will appear as a ‘grid’ when finished?
By: theresa on September 10, 2009
at 7:37 am