I need a midwife

I definitely have a problem with birthing quilts. Every single one of them
turns out the same way. After they are turned and I sew around the edges, I
notice that the back is slightly large than the front. Just a fraction.
But enough that it kind of bulges out near the edging when I get it basted
for quilting. What's with that?!

Karen, Queen of Squishies

I dunno, but whenever that happens to me (often, which is why I don't use
the birthing method!) I "ease" the extra backing in when I quilt. I roll the
quilt ever so slightly by putting a VERY thin stack of mags at the edges --
however much is needed to "remove" the excess. Then I baste the quilt.

I've tried every other method of "easing the back" and this is the only one
that works for me ... YMMV, of course!

Let me know if none of that made sense!!
--
Connie :-)
FREE patterns n' FREE eZine at my blog:
http://sewverycreative.blogspot.com

"Karen, Queen of Squishies" hicall80 @ mchsi.com wrote in message
news:26rSj.145371$yE1.65864@attbi_s21...
I definitely have a problem with birthing quilts. Every single one of
them
turns out the same way. After they are turned and I sew around the edges,
I
notice that the back is slightly large than the front. Just a fraction.
But enough that it kind of bulges out near the edging when I get it basted
for quilting. What's with that?!

Karen, Queen of Squishies

Naaah. You don't need a midwife, you just need a friend.
Actually, a stranger or an enemy might do just fine.
Get someone to do some gentle tugging with you. Pull the quilt at
diagonal corners; then the other two. Pull against each other from the top
and bottom centers; then the sides. That always works pretty well for me.
Then you just smooth it out to distribute the extra fullness. Polly



"Karen, Queen of Squishies" wrote, in part After they are turned and I
sew around the edges,
I notice that the back is slightly large than the front. Just a fraction.
But enough that it kind of bulges out near the edging when I get it
basted
for quilting. What's with that?!

I try not to 'birth' quilts but swap the side you are putting the
batting on. If I remember right the front will look better if the
batting is actually on top of front when you sew rather than under the
backing. It really just moves the that bulge is but better on back
than front.
HTH, taria

Polly Esther wrote:
Naaah. You don't need a midwife, you just need a friend.
Actually, a stranger or an enemy might do just fine.
Get someone to do some gentle tugging with you. Pull the quilt at
diagonal corners; then the other two. Pull against each other from the top
and bottom centers; then the sides. That always works pretty well for me.
Then you just smooth it out to distribute the extra fullness. Polly




"Karen, Queen of Squishies" wrote, in part After they are turned and I
sew around the edges,
I notice that the back is slightly large than the front. Just a fraction.

But enough that it kind of bulges out near the edging when I get it
basted
for quilting. What's with that?!

Polly, do you use a walking foot when sewing the quilt sandwich together?
That's how I do it & so far (knocking on wood) I don't have problems.

Nana HTH


"Taria" wrote in message
news:1ysSj.16206$E77.4886@trnddc05...
I try not to 'birth' quilts but swap the side you are putting the
batting on. If I remember right the front will look better if the
batting is actually on top of front when you sew rather than under the
backing. It really just moves the that bulge is but better on back
than front.
HTH, taria

Polly Esther wrote:
Naaah. You don't need a midwife, you just need a friend.
Actually, a stranger or an enemy might do just fine.
Get someone to do some gentle tugging with you. Pull the quilt at
diagonal corners; then the other two. Pull against each other from the
top and bottom centers; then the sides. That always works pretty well
for me. Then you just smooth it out to distribute the extra fullness.
Polly




"Karen, Queen of Squishies" wrote, in part After they are turned and I
sew around the edges,
I notice that the back is slightly large than the front. Just a
fraction.

But enough that it kind of bulges out near the edging when I get it
basted
for quilting. What's with that?!

No. I don't need the walking foot but I have a hundred or so years sewing
experience, pin lots, show no mercy and take no hostages. I see that Taria
has a different layout than I do. I put the batting down first, then the
backing 'face up' and the quilt top 'face down'. Is that what I do? It
doesn't sound right but I think it is.
Having the two cotton fabrics facing each other on top of the batting,
I've always been able to get all of them to behave with no slipping.
My neat trick with pinning goes this way - to begin, I put two pins in
an "x" shape, move over a decent space to give a comfortable opening for
turning, and make another "x". This tells me to start stitching at the "x"
and carry on to the last one. (You only have to sew up your opening one
time to appreciate having a reminder.) HTH Polly




"nana wilson" wrote Polly, do you use a walking foot when sewing the
quilt sandwich together?
That's how I do it & so far (knocking on wood) I don't have problems.


"Taria" wroteI try not to 'birth' quilts but swap the side you are
putting the
batting on. If I remember right the front will look better if the
batting is actually on top of front when you sew rather than under the
backing. It really just moves the that bulge is but better on back
than front.
HTH, taria

Polly Esther wrote:
Naaah. You don't need a midwife, you just need a friend.
Actually, a stranger or an enemy might do just fine.
Get someone to do some gentle tugging with you. Pull the quilt at
diagonal corners; then the other two. Pull against each other from the
top and bottom centers; then the sides. That always works pretty well
for me. Then you just smooth it out to distribute the extra fullness.
Polly




"Karen, Queen of Squishies" wrote, in part After they are turned and
I sew around the edges,
I notice that the back is slightly large than the front. Just a
fraction.

But enough that it kind of bulges out near the edging when I get it
basted
for quilting. What's with that?!

Get out your little sleeve board and slip it inside the assembly before
turning RSO. Press the seam allowances open and as flat as you can. Use
steam. Trim off the corners to reduce bulk. Then turn RSO.
Another point: where do you put the batting? If you layer it against the
backing, the added bulk on that side of the seam is probably causing a lot
of the bulge. Layer it with the top instead.
Roberta in D


"Karen, Queen of Squishies" hicall80 @ mchsi.com schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:26rSj.145371$yE1.65864@attbi_s21...
I definitely have a problem with birthing quilts. Every single one of them
turns out the same way. After they are turned and I sew around the edges,
I notice that the back is slightly large than the front. Just a fraction.
But enough that it kind of bulges out near the edging when I get it basted
for quilting. What's with that?!

Karen, Queen of Squishies

I watched a Saturday morning PBS quilting show that had a segment about
birthing quilts, maybe Fons & Porter. They put the batting to the top when
layering AND they rounded the corners. After it was sandwiched they laid a
small plate on each corner to mark a line for a gently rounded curve. I
tried it, works like a charm! Everything smooth and even, and I really liked
the look of the softly rounded corners. When you lay the plate down to draw
the pattern, mark where it hits the edges of the fabric, line this up with
the next three corners and they will all be even. Oh, and the said to give
the corners a few clips before turning. I clip little wedges out to relieve
some of the bulk.

I've done this rounding the corner technique before hemming napkins and
table clothes, too. It gives a really nice finished edge

Val

"Karen, Queen of Squishies" hicall80 @ mchsi.com wrote in message
news:26rSj.145371$yE1.65864@attbi_s21...
I definitely have a problem with birthing quilts. Every single one of them
turns out the same way. After they are turned and I sew around the edges,
I notice that the back is slightly large than the front. Just a fraction.
But enough that it kind of bulges out near the edging when I get it basted
for quilting. What's with that?!

Karen, Queen of Squishies

Howdy!

After seeing her demo this several years ago,
here's a post from 2005:

Learned from Marti Michell:
she pieces the backing, leaves an opening in one seam there;
then she sews around all 4 sides, evenly,
"births" the quilt thru' the opening left in the backing seam
in the middle of the back of the quilt; takes up any extra
fabric in that closing seam and
keeps from having that wobbly part from when I used to leave
part of one side open and then tried to sew it shut afterwards. G
Tying: embroidery thread/floss, yarn, kite string, whatever.
Or, in my case, handquilting. ;-)

Ragmop/Sandy


On 5/3/08 8:28 AM, in article , "Roberta Zollner"
wrote:

Get out your little sleeve board and slip it inside the assembly before
turning RSO. Press the seam allowances open and as flat as you can. Use
steam. Trim off the corners to reduce bulk. Then turn RSO.
Another point: where do you put the batting? If you layer it against the
backing, the added bulk on that side of the seam is probably causing a lot
of the bulge. Layer it with the top instead.
Roberta in D


"Karen, Queen of Squishies" hicall80 @ mchsi.com schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:26rSj.145371$yE1.65864@attbi_s21...
I definitely have a problem with birthing quilts. Every single one of them
turns out the same way. After they are turned and I sew around the edges,
I notice that the back is slightly large than the front. Just a fraction.
But enough that it kind of bulges out near the edging when I get it basted
for quilting. What's with that?!

Karen, Queen of Squishies

What a fabulous idea! The unevenness is what has prevented me from
using this very useful method. I might just try this. It sounds so
feasible. I bet I can still mess it up - at least the first time g
..
In message , Sandy Ellison
writes
Howdy!

After seeing her demo this several years ago,
here's a post from 2005:

Learned from Marti Michell:
she pieces the backing, leaves an opening in one seam there;
then she sews around all 4 sides, evenly,
"births" the quilt thru' the opening left in the backing seam
in the middle of the back of the quilt; takes up any extra
fabric in that closing seam and
keeps from having that wobbly part from when I used to leave
part of one side open and then tried to sew it shut afterwards. G
Tying: embroidery thread/floss, yarn, kite string, whatever.
Or, in my case, handquilting. ;-)

Ragmop/Sandy
--
Best Regards
pat on the hill