Friday, November 5, 2010
Bad, bad, border!!! A post quilters can appreciate
This
is one of the many nightmares of every quilter. The wavy, untamed,
lumpy, too big border. As a quilter I deal with them the best I can. I
push, I ease, I steam, I finagle the material as best I can to keep
from getting those folds and pleats in the borders. But....I can only
do so much. Here are a few pictures of my daughters quilt where she did
not put the border on correctly. Funny story...by the time it came to
putting the borders
on, she was OVER the quilt. She no longer "liked" the quilt, so
"loving" the quilt was completely out of the question. She just wanted
it done!
Here's the quilt...you have seen it before.....(it's the split 9 patch)
This is just after the first row has been quilted....you can see I'm already in for a long road ahead.
The
other side of the quilt isn't much better...like I said she was "over
it" and does not want to become the Princess of Blocks. (She calls me
the Queen of Blocks)
If
you notice in the picture above the pink border is not lined up
straight with the bar on the machine. That's because I had already been
working with the extra fabric from the beginning. When I attempt to
straighten the quilt, this is what it looks like.....can you say
"forever waves of grain?" and I'm not talking about wheat like the song.
As we progress this is the way tucks and folds look due to too much fabric.
some bad and some not so bad.....
I
can tell from this picture that the borders are going to give me
problems. Check out the bellowing, balloon like border on the right
side of the quilt. Yep, serious trouble.
Here's
a view of some of the tucks and folds that MUST be done to keep the
quilt somewhat on line. If I didn't I would end up with massive amounts
of fabric at the end. When the borders are this bad, a quilter has no
option but to tuck and fold......
Approaching
the end of the quilt with all of the tucks, folds, pleats and
stretching the top that I've done. Here is what the last row looks
like....
There's
still more tucks to come. If you notice the pink has different waves
than the final border, this makes tucks in the pink and not the print.
Can you say ruffle??
The
good news is the quilt is finished and because she knows (and loves)
the quilter she didn't have to pay to have this quilt finished. She has
had the quilt with her at school for the last couple of years and loves
it. It's done...her friends are amazed that she made it. A well
seasoned quilter might have a different opinion, but for her it's good
enough, it's done, it's not a show quilt. It's a quilt that she grabs
to snuggle up while watching TV in her room and for her that's good
enough. (All pictures used with permission, not that she actually had a
choice.)
Borders
are an important part of the quilt. It's not as easy as just sewing
them on. I didn't know this when I first began quilting, but now I
know. If you have any questions about the "correct" way to apply a
border, do some research, ask questions. It does make a difference.
Thanks for checking on me,
3 comments:
Excellent example! I have acquaintances who complain about the quilter when I know darned well it's the quilt!
Quilters should always measure their quilts through the middle for their borders and ruffling will be way cut down. Also If they will divide their borders in fourths and their quilt in fourths then match them up with pins and then eaze in the fullness. The borders will fit much better and avoid ruffling. I cannot believe someone would send you a quilt with the borders so bad. God bless you for your patience and reasonable quilting.
I'm still learning…...
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