On the 10th day of Xmas my longarmer gave to me - the best advice - to make sure you sew your borders on your quilt just right ... not too full, and not too tight.
Full borders mean there is WAVEY borders - extra fabric is almost like pleated, tucked, or pinned in.
Borders that are TOO TIGHT - means that the center of the quilt is larger, and you are stretching out that fabric borders to make them fit - and the excess fabric is inside the quilt this time instead of in the border.
Both provide issues when taking your quilt to a longarmer to be quilted.
My suggestion, besides being careful about pulling fabric with the borders, or easing it in - is to first start out with your quilt top flat on the floor. Examine it - is flat and square to begin with? Are you cutting borders the length your pattern says, or measuring the quilt top center that you have in front of you and going with those measurements? I always recommend when it comes to borders, to measure your actual quilt. Every machine does not come with an exact standard 1/4". Maybe the cutting was different because of a brand of ruler than what the pattern maker said. Maybe it was the piecing thread that took up more or less space then the pattern designer. All these little factors, can add up to more than 1/4" when it comes to piecing quilts, especially the larger they become.
A great gift suggestion for anyone that needs a water bottle to go to the gym, or to travel with ... is this:
*I love Brita because it is one of the few water bottles that has a filter.
**This one has never leaked - common issues with water bottles, is that they leak - so this one is leak free and I LOVE it!
***Look at all the color options you have!!!
****It's a great size - not too big, and not too small
*****Easy to replace filters
******Easy to carry
*******Great price
********It's plastic so no metal taste
*********I have dropped it several times - oops - it is still going strong!
Full borders mean there is WAVEY borders - extra fabric is almost like pleated, tucked, or pinned in.
Borders that are TOO TIGHT - means that the center of the quilt is larger, and you are stretching out that fabric borders to make them fit - and the excess fabric is inside the quilt this time instead of in the border.
Both provide issues when taking your quilt to a longarmer to be quilted.
My suggestion, besides being careful about pulling fabric with the borders, or easing it in - is to first start out with your quilt top flat on the floor. Examine it - is flat and square to begin with? Are you cutting borders the length your pattern says, or measuring the quilt top center that you have in front of you and going with those measurements? I always recommend when it comes to borders, to measure your actual quilt. Every machine does not come with an exact standard 1/4". Maybe the cutting was different because of a brand of ruler than what the pattern maker said. Maybe it was the piecing thread that took up more or less space then the pattern designer. All these little factors, can add up to more than 1/4" when it comes to piecing quilts, especially the larger they become.
A great gift suggestion for anyone that needs a water bottle to go to the gym, or to travel with ... is this:
*I love Brita because it is one of the few water bottles that has a filter.
**This one has never leaked - common issues with water bottles, is that they leak - so this one is leak free and I LOVE it!
***Look at all the color options you have!!!
****It's a great size - not too big, and not too small
*****Easy to replace filters
******Easy to carry
*******Great price
********It's plastic so no metal taste
*********I have dropped it several times - oops - it is still going strong!