Hugs from Helen

Do you struggle with wavy borders on your quilt tops?

Do you often  end up with wavy borders on your quilt? Is your quilt often not square?

Here’s some hints and tips to get a perfectly flat border and quilt top - which your longarm quilter will love you for.

How to measure and attach borders to your quilt top to end up square!
It's not unusual for the four edges of an unfinished quilt top to all be slightly different lengths because the edges
of quilts are often stretched out of shape a bit during construction and pressing, or if you have many seams even
the slightest difference in seam allowance can make a big difference.
If the quilt is skewed a bit and you measure the sides of the quilt to determine the border length, the quilt will be just be out of square as it was before borders were added. Never just cut a strip of fabric, start sewing at the top and trim off the leftover at the bottom.
If the border is too long, then the sides of the quilt will be puckered or wavy, and if the border is too short or tight, the middle of the quilt will bubble. If the border is not sewn evenly along the whole edge of the quilt, it will cause waviness in some places and tightness in others and just will not sit flat.

These instructions for measuring and sewing straight borders to a quilt can be used to add any type of border, plain or pieced/appliqued.

Straight sewn quilt borders, also called butted borders, are quick and easy to sew—that's probably why they are the most often used borders for quilts.
Borders are usually sewn to the two longest sides of the quilt first and then to the remaining two sides with the final two extending straight across the ends of the first borders.

The steps are:
1. Measure the quilt from top to bottom through the vertical centre.
I like to also measure at both side edges - add the three measurements together and divide by 3 to get the average. (a+b+c /3)

2. Cut two border strips that match the measurement exactly, using the average width you've just determined.
Borders made with crosswise grain strips can be more stretchy than lengthwise grain border strips, but either type is suitable. if you need to join strips to get the measurement, do this first, press seams open (or use a bias seam to reduce bulk) and then cut to size.

Extra Tip: Sometimes you will find that it's best to add top and bottom borders (or shorter borders) first to avoid the need for piecing those border strips.
Use the same method, but measure horizontally first and start at the Short sides. Determine which borders to sew first to make the best use of your fabric.

How to Sew the First Two Borders to the Quilt
1. Fold one of the borders in half crosswise to find its centre point, using your fingers to crease it slightly at that spot.
Do the same with your quilt to find the centre point. Finger press. (You can use a pin or marker to mark them also)

2. Place the border along the side of the quilt, right sides together and  centre points matched. Pin through both layers at the match to keep fabrics from shifting.
If the quilt is quite large I would also mark the 1/4” and 3/4” marks along both the border and quilt top. Do this by
folding in half and then half again to crease these points.
3. Match and pin the bottom end of the border to the bottom edge of the quilt with raw edges even, then match and pin all of your crease marks until you reach the other end of the border pinned to the quilt.
4. Add extra  pins at close intervals in between your quarters and ease in any fullness to coax the two lengths
to match.  Raw edges should be aligned along the quilt's entire side.
5. Sew the border to the quilt with a 1/4 inch seam allowance, removing pins as you approach them to avoid bending pins and breaking needles. If you have extra fullness, sew with the longest piece next to the feed dogs and this will really help to ease it in without puckers.
6. Press the seam allowance towards the border.
7. Repeat for your opposite border.

Sew Remaining Two Borders to the Quilt
1. Measure the quilt from side-to-side through its horizontal midpoint and top and bottom edges, including the
width of the first borders. Find the average and cut or piece two borders that length.
2. Fold a border in half (and quarters if large) crosswise and crease. Pin again matching all of your crease marks.

3. Continue as you did with the previous borders.

If you are adding more borders to your quilt repeat the process above.
Using this method will give you the best chance of a perfectly square flat quilt top - even if your piecing was not
perfect.

Go forth and make square flat  quilts!

happy quilting

hugs from Helen

Tuesday Tip and a winner!

wow, you realllly want these fabric bundles – they are bundles of yummyness aren't they?  Well Lori has randomly chosen two numbers and I have counted up the comments to find our two winners below – congratulations girls!

what beautiful fabric, love the colours

Posted by: Kylie Hall | November 30, 2012 at 01:30 PM

Just subscribed to your newsletter. I'm excited. Looking forward to 12 days of Christmas Sale.

Posted by: Sue Benson | December 02, 2012 at 10:18 AM

 

Kylie and Sue, please email Lori with your snail mail address and she’ll pop them in the post or include them in your 12 days orders if you are participating…

 

Today I have a little tip which I snapped whilst making the Tea for Two quilts before market..

Very often in projects you need to ‘stitch around outside edge leaving a small opening for turning-  clip corners, turn through and slip stitch the opening closed’

Well I find that no matter how good your slip stitching is that this method often distorts what was a beautiful smooth curved edge or straight shape to your finished projects. So often instead I stitch around the complete outside edge (without leaving an opening) and then carefully cut a small slit in the back of the project through just the backing layer. Turn the project through this opening and then roughly ladder stitch the slit closed. I then use a circle or piece of Appliqué paper and fuse to the back of another fabric (large enough to cover your slit)

Use a Sewline Glue pen and glue over the edges. Then you can either glue to the back of your project over the slit – or you can cut a matching circle of fusible webbing paper (something like Vliesofix) and fuse it over the slit.

I then slip stitch down the edges of if its on a small quilt do this before quilting and it will be quilted in. This then is the perfect spot for your label! Either use a permanent fabric pen – like a pigma pen – to write your label on, or prepare your label as you normally do before applying it over the slit..

 

I often use this technique – here’s another example in the Gran’s Christmas Table candle mats and mug coasters.. Leaves me with a perfect shape on the front with no distortion, and a nice extra layer of stabilisation on the back for you mug to sit on.

hope this might come in handy one day for you..

hugs for today

Helen

Tuesdays Tip – threading the needle

no! don’t thread the needle, needle the thread! – that’s my catchphrase at classes…

When threading a needle, pull the end of the thread back between your finger and thumb so that you can no longer see it (watch as you pull it back though so you can see where you put it)

Whilst you are pinching it tight between that thumb and finger push the eye of the needle in between your thumb and finger.

Open and the end of your thread ‘hopefully’ has passed through the eye, grab the end and pull it further through.

By doing it this way all those little fibres are held nice and tightly together and cannot spread out in fear as they approach that big dark hole of the needle.

If it doesn't work after a couple of goes here are a few more things to try:

-turn the needle around (the eyes are punched out so there is a smooth side and a rough side to the eye)

-re cut the end using very sharp embroidery scissors

-cut it on an angle

-use a bit of spit! lick the thread…

but I am sure you will be much more successful this way.

 

remember – don't thread the needle – needle the  thread.

hugs and happy threading

Helen

Tuesdays’ Tip

okay, not a good start but I’m sure its still Tuesday somewhere in the world!

Today I’m going to talk about embroidery hooping – not whether you should or shouldn't but how to?

I cannot work without a hoop – I didn’t start this way until someone ‘told’ me I had to to get a good result and now I simply cannot work without one. Not for tightness but as an extra hand.

The only hoops I use now are the very cheap plastic types that were designed for Punchneedle originally but now are common everywhere.

They come in many sizes but I use only the 6” as this suits my ‘scoop’ style method of stitching where I need to be able to reach the centre of the hoop with my under finger… I also find it suits most sizes of the pieces I am working on. I will add fabric to designs to fit the hoop and cut back to a smaller size after if need be. If you are a ‘stab stitcher’ you may find a smaller 3-4” is good for smaller designs.

 

 

Take the inner and outer ring apart and you can see that the inner ring has a small lip on the top edge. (see the ‘this side up’ message) that’s important for this reason.

Place the inner ring on a surface with the lip to the top side – you should see the ‘this side up’ on the top. Place your embroidery/stitchery fabric over the top.

Open the screw almost all the way on the outer ring and place it on top of the fabric pushing down over the inner ring.

Pop the outer ring down further until that lip is sitting above the outer ring – you will feel it pop out.

Tighten the screw Pull the outer fabric down firmly around the hoop on all sides. Do not pull so tightly that it skews the design out of shape. Pull evenly on all sides.

 

do a final tighten on the screw and you are good to go

Note: if you are a stab stitcher  you may like it quite tight. For my ‘scoop stitching’ method I don’t have it really tight, just firm but with movement so that I can take my needle down and up in one step using my finger below to help bring the needle up.

 

Okay, that’s my ‘how to hoop’ my embroidery tip for today

hugs to you all

Helen

Tuesday’s Tip

I often receive emails asking simple questions on what I use or how I do something. I know from teaching that even the most basic of things that we ‘assume’ everyone would know – well there may be someone who doesn't – we all started somewhere and someone told or showed or taught me everything I know so maybe they didn't have that opportunity..

so anyway….. this led me to today's decision… to the best of my ability I will be running Tuesdays’ Tips on the blog every week. You may have questions or things explained – please ask – or you may have a tip of your own to share – please send it to me…

our first tip!

Stripping the Thread.         

I don’t often use stranded cottons anymore for stitching but I know I started on them and most of us have a huge stash of stranded cottons. whether it be DMC, Anchor, Coates etc – most stranded embroidery threads are made up of six strands of thread twisted together to form one large thread.

But most projects done require such a thick thread so we take the strands apart and use the required amount.

Pull one end from your packaged skein (note if it doesn’t come easily find the other end – one of them will!)

Cut a length approximately 40cm/16” long – fingertip to elbow is a good guide.

Hold the top of the length in between thumb and finger of left hand.

 

Take one strand and pull straight up removing it  from the pile…

the bottom of the thread may bundle up a bit but shouldn't tangle –

 

just pull the bundle down straight again and repeat for the next strand until you have the desired amount.

Keep them in your right hand with the tops of each strand even.

Run your finger down the chosen strands to smooth and place the others in a safe spot for the next task.

NOW – even if you want to use all six strands I believe you should still ‘strip the thread’ (this is what the separating process is called). This is particularly important for satin stitch. When a stranded thread is made the strands as I said are twisted together. When you strip the threads and lay them back together they sit side by side. Do a test with satin stitch and see how the light hits the twisted threads as opposed to the stripped flat threads – it gives a smoother sheen to your satin stitch. Stripping the threads can also help with twisting, tangling and wearing of the threads.

Okay,maybe you learnt something there? no more teeth, door handles, standing upside down on the veranda to split those threads!

hugs for today…

Helen