snarkyquilter

How to Prepare your Quilt - A Guide

libie@thesnarkyquilter.com (Libie Peterson) — Thu, 21 May 2020 03:59:22 GMT

Following these guidelines will help ensure there won't be delays in the longarm quilting process, additional fees, and will avoid the possibility of getting placed back on the waiting list while waiting for any corrections to be made.

1.) Your quilt top and backing should be well pressed with all seams flat.

If your backing is pieced, seams need to be pressed open with selvage edges removed prior to piecing. I prefer the seams on backings to run left to right on the frame, this tends to produce the best results.
Bolt folds must be pressed out.

2.) Clip all the threads on your quilt top (especially the finished side).

Stray threads will show through lighter fabrics and they can cause snags and uneven stitching.
If your quilt top has abundant loose threads I will add a thread trimming fee of $15.00. Loose threads will wrap around the hopping foot and may damage the machine. The fee is due to the fact that I will have to stop after each row and trim your threads before quilting the next row, taking up much more time.

3.) Make sure the quilt top / backing and batting edges are cut straight and form a perfect square.

Packaged batting does not need to be trimmed.
Please do not send Mountain Mist or high loft polyester batting. I have a variety of Hobbs batting available.

4.) This is Important!

Backing must be a total minimum of 10" wider and 10” longer than the quilt top.
Provided Batting should be a minimum of 8" wider and 8" longer that the quilt top.
If you choose not to square I will need 12“ longer AND wider and I will quilt the top as you send it (May be slightly off in the rows)

5.) No bed sheets for backing.

The fabric is too dense, and in turn it prevents needle penetration causing skipped stitches and thread breaks.

6.) If you have bias edges

On the outside of your quilt, stay-stitch 1/4” around all edges the quilt top only.
This will help prevent the quilt top from stretching when it is loaded onto the frame.

7.) Identify the top of quilt

By marking with a piece of masking tape, if there is a definite top.

8.) The quilt top should be free of embellishments such as buttons and beads. NO PINS PLEASE

I don't need your top basted or pinned as I load each piece separately onto the frame.

Notes:

Longarm quilting is a hand-guided art. Thus, computerized perfection cannot be achieved nor is it a built-in part of the longarm quilting process. I am human, not a robot :)
Please insure that your piecing and borders lie flat. Quilting will not correct puffiness due to uneven piecing.
Longarm quilting will not "fix" misaligned patchwork or the uneven borders that can cause your quilt to have puckers or tucks when quilted.
Your quilt will be as free of pleats, fullness or tucks as your piecing allows.* Extra charges may be added for quilt preparations that must be completed by Libie prior to quilting.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to give me a call. I'm happy to assist you in getting everything prepared, and going over any of the details you need further information on.

How does this quilting process work?

libie@thesnarkyquilter.com (Libie Peterson) — Thu, 21 May 2020 03:59:21 GMT

Here is a tutorial on how your quilt moves through the process of being quilted. I have borrowed this from Craftsy.com. I have changed it to match how I will be handling your quilt. Please contact me if you need further explanation.

Step one:

It all begins by removing the quilt top and backing from packaging you sent it in, or dropped it off in. I open your box when it arrives. When I get close to starting on your quilt I will contact you to help you choose thread and quilting design, I make a note of what you chose. I then place your quilt top back in the packaging it arrived in and place it in queue in the order received.

Step two:

Once the quilt is out of the queue, next comes laying out your quilt top and backing. Your quilt may have been folded for a number of months waiting to be machine quilted. Creases and wrinkles should be removed prior to loading onto the longarm. This process varies by quilt. Some do not require pressing, while some others do.

Step three:

I used Red Snappers for attaching your backing and top to the leaders. I will pin the batting in place until I have basted the top of the quilt into place.

Step four:

Basting stitches hold the sides in place. Notice how the batting and backing extend beyond the quilt top. The extra batting and backing allows the longarmer to quilt beyond the quilt top ensuring consistent quilting. The clamps help keep the quilt back taut so no tucks occur underneath.

Longarm clamp keeps quilt taught to prevent tucks. Now the quilt is securely fastened to the longarm and ready for quilting.

Step five:

I load the design (pantograph) you choose into the quilt area of the digital program, choosing design size, number of repeats and rows.

Step-By-Step, How I load a quilt onto the frame!

libie@thesnarkyquilter.com (Libie Peterson) — Thu, 21 May 2020 03:59:21 GMT

You might wonder how your quilt gets from the package it arrives in, to a quilted piece. Here I show you how.

Your top and backing should be pressed out as shown, prior to delivery for quilting.

Your top and backing should be pressed out as shown, prior to delivery for quilting.

This is important as a backing with seams folded in one direction often pucker and leave a lumpy appearance. Also your selvages should be trimmed off before piecing the backing. If you use the selvages in the seams the backing may pucker and be out of shape along the seam.

One pressing tip that can make a world of difference is to press the long seams open. These are the seams that are made when you sew two rows of blocks together. If you press the long seams to one side, all the intersections with the blocks build up a thick wad of material, which can break a needle and cause a small tear in the fabric.

I can load the seam top to bottom, but this often makes rolling the quilt forward uneven as the seam in much thicker then the rest of the quilt, and can cause billowing of the backing fabric.

This is why it is important that your backing fabric is at least 5" longer on top, bottom and each side. Attaching the backing to the leaders takes up 4" of quilting space. If your backing is too short the quilt will not be quilted all the way to the bottom edge.

Again, this is why the backing needs to be larger than the top. If the sides are not at least 4" wider I am not able to put tension on the sides and there may be puckering on the back of the quilt.

The batting lays between the loaded top and backing on the leaders.

After the quilt is finished being quilted I unload it from the frame. At this point I would package your quilt up and send it back. If you want the quilt to be trimmed prior to shipping, please be sure to let me know, and see the pricing guide for trimming. I can also machine bind your quilt.