Tuesday 1 September 2009

Quilting Challenges

I just finished quilting a lap quilt. Every time I do this, I remember how much I don't enjoy trying to stuff a quilt through my machine. As soon as I try, the fabric takes on a life of it's own. It refuses to stay rolled up. It won't stay on the table and insists on leaping to the floor and unrolling on the way down. When I do succeed in keeping the quilt rolled and on top of the table, one end leaps off, reaching for the floor. And it grabs the edge of the table with great intensity, refusing to allow the quilt to gently glide back and forth for a smooth flowing stitch.

I made myself this table extension last year, which improves the situation a bit. It's really nice to have lots of space to each side of the machine to handle the quilt, and work left to right instead of front to back.

I think if I make the table a bit deeper - so there's more of a ledge at the front of the setup, I might have more luck keeping the quilt roll on the table. But it will still fall off the ends and unroll there.


When the quilt is longer than the table, it droops off the end, and gets caught on the corners/edges. And then suddenly I'm quilting in place, rather than in smooth flowing left-right arcs.

I don't have room for a table much longer than this, unfortunately. Unless I can convince one of my sons to give up his room. Somehow I don't think that's going to happen.




I can't possibly be the only one who struggles with this. Please tell me I'm not. Or let me in on your secrets - how do you corral a quilt and get it to submit to the quilting process?

3 comments:

  1. no, your not the only one. I won't even try - don't have the room. Good for you working with it though. My friend, if the project is to big, right into the long-arm quilter it goes.
    You look like you have good set up there.
    For the time when you are doing it, I have heard of ladies using their ironing boards to be an extra table space, or having tables that they will pull out just for this time - hmmmm. I don't know what to suggest, but I sure hope you get some answers.
    Another friend rents time on a long arm machine. Could you do this?? It's another possibility.....

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  2. I don't roll my quilts when I quilt. I put my ironing board behind my table and a small folding table to my left and I push the quilt around. Rolling it just makes it more difficult for me and more time consuming. Smoosh and push through. It seems to work for me. I'm too cheap to send my quilts to a long arm person and I don't have room for my own so I make do the best I can.

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  3. I send them out to be quilted. :-0

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