Tips and Suggestions

Adding Borders to your Quilt

Click here for a simple diagram showing how avoid wavy borders.

Preparing your Quilt

Very important: Your backing & batting need to be at least 3 inches bigger than your quilt top on all sides. Printed backings will hide any stops & starts. I use the same color thread on the top & in the bobbin. Keep this in mind when choosing your backing fabric.

When using wide muslin for your backing, purchase at least 6 inches more than you will need--the weave of the muslin is often skewed a bit. To square up the fabric I may need to trim a few inches off, possibly leaving your backing too small.

Your quilt top and backing fabric should be pressed and neatly folded. The backing should be pieced (if necessary) and squared up. I recommend pressing the backing seam open to reduce bulk.

While constructing your quilt, please press all seams to one side or the other. If the seam allowance flip-flops back & forth, I cannot accurately do stitch-in-the-ditch on your quilt.

The layers of your quilt do not need to be basted together--each piece is loaded individually.

Borders that do not lay flat may cause tucks or pleats in the final quilt. See the hints under "adding borders to your quilt" to avoid this problem.

Trim any loose threads on your quilt top. Unclipped dark threads can show through underneath light fabrics.

Identify the top of your quilt & the top of your backing with a note pinned to each. This is especially important if your back fabric is directional.

Choosing Batting

I prefer that you use the batting that I carry--I buy batting by the roll which lays very flat when I load it on the machine. The individual packaged battings are often difficult to work with. They are rolled up & folded many times & are very wrinkled when taken out of the bag. (One exception is the Quilter’s Dream battings--they come out of the package without wrinkles or folds & I am happy to use any QD product you bring along with your quilt.)

If your quilt requires any stitch-in-the-ditch, please choose a low-loft batting. Quilter’s Dream Cotton or Dream Poly are both excellent choices for this type of quilting. Batting with a high loft can be too thick for dense quilting. I can assist you in choosing the best batting for your quilt.

Also think about shrinkage when choosing your batting--most cotton or cotton blends will shrink 3-5% when washed. Quilter’s Dream Cotton is labeled as having 1% shrinkage, and polyester battings have no shrinkage.