I don't have too many rules that I follow without exception when sewing or quilting. But taking care of equipment is always important. That means that after every project what ever machines I have used get cleaned. Delinted is probably a good term. No matter what I see on the outside of the bobbin carriage, I know there is more behind it and in the feed dog compartment. I use a soft make-up brush to loosen and remove lint. Another rule is to return all tools to their proper place. I have each work area set up with the tools that are used there, scissors and rotary cutters are on the cutting table. Pins are there, a seam ripper, all the rulers and seam guides. I have everything organized in a work box. These are wooden tray boxes, divided into 4 compartments. I get them at IKEA, two sizes. large and small. All marking tools are in one small box, another is near the machine to hold items pertinent to the current project. One of my biggest rules is Test, Test, Test. Well, can we just say, OOPS. While working on the Patriot quilt, doing my meandering stitching, I failed to notice that the rayon threads were having tension issues on the back. Looked good on the front but I didn't test when I switched from cotton to rayon thread. We have issues. I should have had a clue when my walking foot started screeching like a cricket in a stone wall, but noooooo.
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| can you hear the tread popping as I turn the binding? | | |
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So after some angst I decided to finish the binding. I will probably sew the entire perimeter of the quilt on the right side to secure the ends of these stitches.
The entire quilt has been something of an experiment so I decided to use a binding method husband's dear GM always used. She trimmed away the batting to the quilt edges, then trimmed the backing to 2 inches. She then folded the backing wrong sides together to 1 inch then in half again to 1/2 inch to the right side then secured with a hand applied slip stitch.
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| trimming excess batting |
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| backing measured and marked at 2 inches |
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| fold and secure with clips |
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| fold corner to 45 degree angle, |
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| fold next side in half and in half again |
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| meet that lovely mitre |
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| trimmed, folded, clipped and ready for hand stitching |
I'll finish this up over the weekend and post the finished product. So, what have we learned from this?
- Test, test, test
- Need to find better method to secure the ends of stitching with rayon thread
- Prefer printed backings, hides those little oopsies
- This meandering thing really went rather fast, good for finishing utility pieces but probably not good enough for anything more than that, I need more practice
- I'm really tired of red, white and blue
Gratuity Moment: pieces of fabric saved that can be re-purposed
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