PREPARING
YOUR TOP FOR LONG ARM QUILTING
· Cut your batting
and backing 8-10 inches larger than your quilt top. This gives me an additional 4-5 inches of
fabric on each side to attach clamps that pull the sides taught, insuring that
there are no puckers or fullness in the backing. It will also leave room to make adjustments in
the event the top is not square or sometimes space to test stitches to see how
the tension setting of my machine will interact with your fabrics and
batting. For best result always use good
quality cotton or 80/20 blend batting. I provide Quilters Dream Select, 100%
cotton batting unless you wish to provide your own batting. Other Quilter’s Dream batting products are
available by special order.
· There is no
need to pin, baste or sandwich your quilt when it is going to be long arm
quilted. The individual layers will be
rolled onto rollers.
· Clipping threads
would be a good idea so that you don’t end up seeing threads from darker
fabrics in lighter areas of the quilt.
· Unless it is
obvious which end is up, it is always a good idea to pin a note to the quilt
top and backing indicating which end you would like to be the top of your
quilt.
· Square up
your top and backing. Backing with
uneven edges will have to be trimmed and the backing squared in order to attach
it to the leaders on the quilting frame.
Please make sure you have allowed
enough backing to square it up properly. Selvage edges can be left on as long as it is
on an outside edge of your backing and will not ultimately be part of the
finished quilt. I’d be happy to square the backing up for you
for an additional fee. I will not
attempt to square up your top so you will want to do that yourself prior to
leaving it with me. I will make every attempt to keep a top
square during the long arm process but depending on your individual piecing
skills it may or may not be possible.
· If you need
to piece your backing fabric, the seam should be approximately 5/8” wide and
pressed open. If sewn on the salvage edge, the salvage should be removed. Make sure you use enough fabric so that the
backing can be properly squared up after piecing the back leaving the required
additional fabric need for long arming.
· Always press
both your top and backing. Wrinkles may
not always quilt out. I will gladly
press the top/backing for you for an additional fee.
· Any embellishments
such as beads or pearls should be added AFTER
the quilt has been long arm quilted. If the needle hits one of the beads it could
cause damage to both the machine and to your quilt top.
TIPS FOR
ADDING BORDERS TO YOUR TOP
The
best success for achieving a ‘squared top’ is to measure the quilt top in three
areas. Measure the top, measure the middle and measure the bottom. Calculate
the average and cut your borders to the average measurement. First pin the top to the border beginning in
the center then on each end and ease the fabric distributing any difference between
the top/border evenly. Then sew the
borders onto the quilt top. Do this for
both the width and the length.
This
will help eliminate fullness, wavy or puckered borders.
If your quilt top has a final border which is
pieced with seams exposed to the outer edge, it is a good idea to stitch around
the entire quilt top close to the outer edge (less than 1/4”) so when your
binding is stitched on, you will not see this running stitch. This running
stitch secures your pieced border from coming apart or popping at the seams
when it is loaded onto the long arm machine.
If
your border is one solid piece of fabric, there is no need to do this step.
