To Mark, or Not to Mark
Of course that is the question, but only you (and your client) can decide the answer! Whenever you choose to mark a quilt with any method, test your marks on the back of the quilt in the seam allowances to be sure you can successfully remove them. Test any fabric which you intend to mark-especially lighter fabrics or those with special coatings that may affect how much pressure you apply with your tool.
For water-soluble marking tools, testing is imperative. These tools need a large number of water molecules in relation to the chemical molecules in the ink so that they will lift completely from the fabric. This usually means completely soaking the quilt in cool water (sometimes several times) to make the ink vanish. Lightly spraying or misting the fabric with water will push the ink into the batting, only to come back and haunt you later. Many water-soluble inks can become permanent if exposed to heat (such as an iron, sunlight, or even a hot car). Take necessary precautions and remove the ink as soon as you are finished quilting. You can even use special pens designed to immediately remove the marks from your fabric. Clover is one brand that carries such a tool...visit your local quilt shop to find out more.
To keep your water soluble marking pens in top working condition, quiltmaker Debra Wagner advises that you store the markers in self-sealing plastic bags to prevent evaporation. Debra also places her markers in a tall tin container in the vertical position with the tip facing down, so that the ink will flow easily whenever she wants to use the marker.
Showing posts with label backing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label backing. Show all posts
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
I Ran Out of Batting!
You will run out of batting before you run out of quilt at least three times every year.
Okay, this was just made up. And if it has never happened to you, let's hope we didn't mess with your "mojo" by mentioning it. But many longarm quilters have suffered the dreaded "two-inches-too-short" dilemma, discovering that they have more quilt than batting at the bottom edge.
The best way to handle this is to avoid the situation in the first place by opening up your batting piece, folding it in half and then in half once again. Do the same with your quilt top, matching the folds with those of your batting. Check all the raw edges to be sure you have plenty of batting extending past the quilt's outer perimeter.
If Murphy has struck and you've discovered that you're short of batting once you've begun, you can still salvage the project with a little extra work. When you reach the edge of the batting where you need to add an extra piece, overlap a new piece of batting on top of the current batting. Be sure the overlap is at least six inches. You won't need to remove the quilt from your frame.
Use a scissors to cut a serpentine path through both layers of batting at once (be careful not to cut the quilt layers or your canvas leaders!) Remove the scrap pieces and then whipstitch the pieces together. This curved "seam" in your batting is easier to disguise as the piece rolls into the quilt, and is more likely to be caught with your quilting stitches to prevent it from separating when the quilt is used.
Okay, this was just made up. And if it has never happened to you, let's hope we didn't mess with your "mojo" by mentioning it. But many longarm quilters have suffered the dreaded "two-inches-too-short" dilemma, discovering that they have more quilt than batting at the bottom edge.
The best way to handle this is to avoid the situation in the first place by opening up your batting piece, folding it in half and then in half once again. Do the same with your quilt top, matching the folds with those of your batting. Check all the raw edges to be sure you have plenty of batting extending past the quilt's outer perimeter.
If Murphy has struck and you've discovered that you're short of batting once you've begun, you can still salvage the project with a little extra work. When you reach the edge of the batting where you need to add an extra piece, overlap a new piece of batting on top of the current batting. Be sure the overlap is at least six inches. You won't need to remove the quilt from your frame.
Use a scissors to cut a serpentine path through both layers of batting at once (be careful not to cut the quilt layers or your canvas leaders!) Remove the scrap pieces and then whipstitch the pieces together. This curved "seam" in your batting is easier to disguise as the piece rolls into the quilt, and is more likely to be caught with your quilting stitches to prevent it from separating when the quilt is used.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Quilt Backing
The seam direction of your backing depends on the quilt's use.
If you are lucky enough to have a well-stocked quilt shop near you, you may be able to purchase wide quilt backing fabric and avoid having seams altogether. However, not all wide backings maintain the same quality. Check carefully before investing in this fabric. Pay special attention to "white on white" backing fabric where part of the design appears to be painted on to the fabric. Longarm needles will perforate and crumble the paint, causing tension issues, more thread breakage, and needle holes that may not recover.
When you are forced to piece fabric strips to create backing large enough for your quilt top, choose the seam direction based on the quilt's use in addition to ease of loading on your frame. Generally, horizontal backing seams are much easier to handle than vertical seams, since the seam will lay parallel to the roller instead of creating bulk as it wraps around the roller.
However, if the quilt will hang on a wall, then situating the backing fabric so that the lengthwise grain runs "top to bottom" will reduce stress on the quilt and prevent sagging and stretching. In this instance vertical seams may be more appropriate.
When you sew backing pieces together, be sure to remove the selvage edges along the seam line. You can decrease the bulk in the seam even further by pressing the seam open instead of to one side. Select a stitch length of 11-12 stitches per inch to secure the open seam better.
If you are lucky enough to have a well-stocked quilt shop near you, you may be able to purchase wide quilt backing fabric and avoid having seams altogether. However, not all wide backings maintain the same quality. Check carefully before investing in this fabric. Pay special attention to "white on white" backing fabric where part of the design appears to be painted on to the fabric. Longarm needles will perforate and crumble the paint, causing tension issues, more thread breakage, and needle holes that may not recover.
When you are forced to piece fabric strips to create backing large enough for your quilt top, choose the seam direction based on the quilt's use in addition to ease of loading on your frame. Generally, horizontal backing seams are much easier to handle than vertical seams, since the seam will lay parallel to the roller instead of creating bulk as it wraps around the roller.
However, if the quilt will hang on a wall, then situating the backing fabric so that the lengthwise grain runs "top to bottom" will reduce stress on the quilt and prevent sagging and stretching. In this instance vertical seams may be more appropriate.
When you sew backing pieces together, be sure to remove the selvage edges along the seam line. You can decrease the bulk in the seam even further by pressing the seam open instead of to one side. Select a stitch length of 11-12 stitches per inch to secure the open seam better.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Quilting
You can determine whether fabric will be a good choice for quilt backing by evaluating its selvedge edges in addition to its color and pattern. Study the fabric at the store to avoid disappointment later. Look at the selvedge edges of the fabric, specifically where the mounting pins held the yardage in place for dyeing (you'll see small holes along the selvedge edge.)
Check the right side of the fabric along this strip. If you see small white or light areas surrounding those pin holes, it means that the fabric dye did not completely penetrate each warp or weft yarn. When the pins holding the fabric for processing penetrated the selvedge, they exposed the lighter side of each fiber, making the fabric's "wrong side" visible through the pin holes.
Why is this important to a longarm quilter? Since your needle is very large and will also penetrate the backing fabric from "wrong side" to "right side" your needle could also expose the lighter side of the backing fabric around every needle hole. This phenomenon is often confused with batting bearding or a dull needle. In fact, the fabric itself is the culprit!
Check the right side of the fabric along this strip. If you see small white or light areas surrounding those pin holes, it means that the fabric dye did not completely penetrate each warp or weft yarn. When the pins holding the fabric for processing penetrated the selvedge, they exposed the lighter side of each fiber, making the fabric's "wrong side" visible through the pin holes.
Why is this important to a longarm quilter? Since your needle is very large and will also penetrate the backing fabric from "wrong side" to "right side" your needle could also expose the lighter side of the backing fabric around every needle hole. This phenomenon is often confused with batting bearding or a dull needle. In fact, the fabric itself is the culprit!
Choosing the correct fabric for quilt backing
You can determine whether fabric will be a good choice for quilt backing by evaluating its selvedge edges in addition to its color and pattern.
Study the fabric at the store to avoid disappointment later. Look at the selvedge edges of the fabric, specifically where the mounting pins held the yardage in place for dyeing (you'll see small holes along the selvedge edge.) Check the right side of the fabric along this strip. If you see small white or light areas surrounding those pin holes, it means that the fabric dye did not completely penetrate each warp or weft yarn. When the pins holding the fabric for processing penetrated the selvedge, they exposed the lighter side of each fiber, making the fabric's "wrong side" visible through the pin holes.
Why is this important to a longarm quilter? Since your needle is very large and will also penetrate the backing fabric from "wrong side" to "right side" your needle could also expose the lighter side of the backing fabric around every needle hole. This phenomenon is often confused with batting bearding or a dull needle. In fact, the fabric itself is the culprit!
Study the fabric at the store to avoid disappointment later. Look at the selvedge edges of the fabric, specifically where the mounting pins held the yardage in place for dyeing (you'll see small holes along the selvedge edge.) Check the right side of the fabric along this strip. If you see small white or light areas surrounding those pin holes, it means that the fabric dye did not completely penetrate each warp or weft yarn. When the pins holding the fabric for processing penetrated the selvedge, they exposed the lighter side of each fiber, making the fabric's "wrong side" visible through the pin holes.
Why is this important to a longarm quilter? Since your needle is very large and will also penetrate the backing fabric from "wrong side" to "right side" your needle could also expose the lighter side of the backing fabric around every needle hole. This phenomenon is often confused with batting bearding or a dull needle. In fact, the fabric itself is the culprit!
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