Quilting questions

[HeatherJay]

I've just finished a baby quilt top. I'm ready to start basting it and binding it.

Is there anything important to known before I start basting it (I'll be using safety pins)? Like, is it important to find the center and all that stuff?

Should I quilt it before I bind it or after?

Also, what exactly is the easiest way to bind it? I have quilting books and I've seen pictures, but I'm still kind of confused.

Any help would be great. I'm excited about finally getting a quilt finished. I have 3 or 4 quilt tops, but no finished quilts as of yet.

 

[moralwarrior]

I have made two quilts. One is an overlarge baby quilt for a girlfriend and the other was a totally handmade, handstitched sampler quilt that I have hanging over the front door. I went to a class for that one.

I also used the curved safety pins on the baby quilt. I hand quilted that one, too. I sewed the top (log cabin type) on the machine but hand stitched the 3 layers together. The sampler quilt was done in a class and the teacher did center the top, middle and backing on a long table. She then basted it together with a large needle and thin white thread.

I think it is just a personal preference and just depends if the quilt is very bulky. If it is very bulky, then I would baste. If it is manageable, then I would use the safety pins. Good luck.

Moralwarrior

 

[judy]

You should do all the quilting first, the very last step should be the binding, because the layers can shift around as you quilt. After you're all finished quilting, trim all the layers all around the edge of the quilt, so they're nice and straight and even, then use a bias strip for the binding. Sew it to the right side of the quilt, face down, then fold it over the edge of the quilt, fold the edge of the binding under, and baste. Then finally stitch the binding strip to the bottom of the quilt, remove the basting, and voila!, you're done! The corners can be a challenge, but just experiment with different techniques, you can even make one up, there's no one way that's right when it comes to corners.

When you go to sandwich the three layers, make sure that the batting and the backing are larger than your quilt top, so that you have a generous margin. That way you don't have to worry about the quilt top ending up larger than the other two layers and needing to be trimmed.

Also, I personally like to baste even my smallest quilts. I just feel more confident that things will stay in place the way I want them to if I baste instead of pinning.

Good luck, and don't forget to post a photo when you're all finished!

 

[Starr SDA Living Word]

GOOD TIPS.