If you sew/quilt, please help!!

Emerald27 · July 2014

So I've been working on a simple strip quilt for LO, and it's almost done. I sewed the strips together, cut the sides to make it square, lined up the batting and backing, and sewed three sides. I now have just one more side to sew...but I realized tonight after looking at my progress that I didn't actually "quilt" the thing!! I had intended to sew again along the strip trenches (through the batting and backing) before sewing the sides, but forgot...

So if you sew: can I just sew lines there anyway, or since the edges are done, will it not work? Do I need to tear out all my seams and start again at that point? It's so pretty that I hate the thought of that!

Also, if I haven't made any sense here (this was harder to describe than I expected, lol), just say so and I'll pip my progress to show what I mean. I'm a total beginner just playing with my mom's old sewing machine and am completely clueless about how to fix this. TIA!!

persephonerose · July 2014

I think you could sew in the trenches if you wanted but it would effect your edges. Does the machine have any decorative stitches? If so you could pick random spots throughout the quilt and add the fancy stitch. You could also pin down the material and hand stitch in selected spots.

If it was me, I would stitch across each strip, just inside the seam. In a box/rectangle shape. Similar to how they did with these squares.

italiangal1033 · July 2014

I agree with @persephonerose‌. Also, if you have a local quilt shop bring what you have in and ask them. They always have great fixes/ideas at my local shop!

Emerald27 · July 2014

@persephonerose‌ That's a really cute idea! But I'm not sure it would work because my strips are pretty narrow. I'll take a picture to pip in a bit.

Emerald27 · July 2014

Ok, so here are a couple pictures of the quilt in its current state:

Just how important is the quilting aspect of a quilt?

And thanks for the rec to stop by a quilt shop! I'll have to find one...would anyone at Jo-Ann's be able to help?

ETA: Also shamelessly AWing my cat. :P

hgielrebmik · July 2014

You could also just tie it.

colacrock · July 2014

That looks great for a beginner! I wish my projects looked like that! You could either tie it as someone else mentioned or try a decorative stitch every few inches along the strips. But, you should probably take the three sides out and start over

Emerald27 · July 2014

Ok, so what do you all mean by tie it? I seriously have no idea what I'm doing. :P

persephonerose · July 2014

I would at least tack, or tie it like @Di_126 posted. Since you used a separate bating and backing when you go to wash it the batting could start bunching up and that would ruin the look of your nice quilt!

I hate ripping seams so I'm trying to think of any way for you not to do that. Although it is probably the proper way to handle the issue

DaniGrace89 · July 2014

I really like what you have. I think it looks very quilted. Awesome!

Justabean3 · July 2014

I think it needs to be quilted or tied at least.. The problem is when you go to wash it. If there is too much space between stitches the fabric will bunch and the batting will pull apart

You could try and quilt in the ditch on the stripes but it might make your quilt all wonky. I honestly would just seem rip your binding out, do it an resew

There is an awesome tutorial on seeing front and back of binding at the same time to where you catch your edge that works well

Justabean3 · July 2014

https://craftgawker.com/post/2012/08/02/36030/

BeckyH05 · July 2014

I do not know a thing about sewing or quilting but just wanted to say it looks awesome! Great job!

Emerald27 · July 2014

One more question! If I do quilt this by sewing straight lines in the trenches of the strips, what color thread would you use? I have dark blue and medium-gray. Would the dark thread look weird between the strips that are lighter (like the light blue and bees)?

ADH0906 · July 2014

^i think dark blue would look just fine. You're going for a tiny but of contrast, and I think that's just the right mix. Did you decide to take the binding off? (Quilt is super cute, btw!)

Justabean3 · July 2014

I think really any color will look nice. I would use the color closest to your backing

Emerald27 · July 2014

ADH0906 said:
^i think dark blue would look just fine. You're going for a tiny but of contrast, and I think that's just the right mix. Did you decide to take the binding off? (Quilt is super cute, btw!)

I haven't decided. I might just try sewing very carefully in the trenches from one edge of the binding to the other...and hope it looks ok. It doesn't matter too much since it's just a beginner project, but I just don't want it to fall apart or something! And I *would* like it to look nice.

I was thinking about sewing one trench from binding edge to binding edge and seeing how it looks. If you can really tell and it looks terrible, I'll tear the binding and sew it all again.

Justabean3 · July 2014

Emerald27 said:

ADH0906 said:
^i think dark blue would look just fine. You're going for a tiny but of contrast, and I think that's just the right mix. Did you decide to take the binding off? (Quilt is super cute, btw!)
I haven't decided. I might just try sewing very carefully in the trenches from one edge of the binding to the other...and hope it looks ok. It doesn't matter too much since it's just a beginner project, but I just don't want it to fall apart or something! And I *would* like it to look nice.

I was thinking about sewing one trench from binding edge to binding edge and seeing how it looks. If you can really tell and it looks terrible, I'll tear the binding and sew it all again.

------
I don't think it will mess it up but it may pull in places or not be the shape you intended. Make sure you start in the center and work your way out. I would do every other stripe

Emerald27 · July 2014

Justabean3 said:

Emerald27 said:

ADH0906 said:
^i think dark blue would look just fine. You're going for a tiny but of contrast, and I think that's just the right mix. Did you decide to take the binding off? (Quilt is super cute, btw!)
I haven't decided. I might just try sewing very carefully in the trenches from one edge of the binding to the other...and hope it looks ok. It doesn't matter too much since it's just a beginner project, but I just don't want it to fall apart or something! And I *would* like it to look nice.

I was thinking about sewing one trench from binding edge to binding edge and seeing how it looks. If you can really tell and it looks terrible, I'll tear the binding and sew it all again.
------
I don't think it will mess it up but it may pull in places or not be the shape you intended. Make sure you start in the center and work your way out. I would do every other stripe

Thank you!!!!!!! ^:)^ I'll let you all know how it goes! This crafty stuff was so not stressful a week ago. Lol

crystal8503 · July 2014

How big is the quilt? That would determine what decision I made if this were my project. I would either leave it be or use yarn to tie down enough of the fabric so it doesn't move. If it's a larger one, I would probably seam rip even though I despise it because some of your fabric looks slippery and I would be worried about it moving and bunching. Or, you could pin the heck out of it with quilting safety pins and stitch in the ditch, just like you mentioned. The pins would really help decrease movement if you used enough.

Emerald27 · July 2014

@crystal8503‌ I "designed" it to fit comfortably over LO in his carseat, so it's pretty small. The dimensions are 30" x 32". Each strip of fabric is approximately 2" wide, but I wasn't too careful to make sure they were exact. I like the home made look.

crystal8503 · July 2014

Emerald27 said:

@crystal8503‌ I "designed" it to fit comfortably over LO in his carseat, so it's pretty small. The dimensions are 30" x 32". Each strip of fabric is approximately 2" wide, but I wasn't too careful to make sure they were exact. I like the home made look.

In my opinion, you do not need to quilt that. Create a cute little design with yarn tacks to keep it on place and call it a day. I honestly don't think you even need to do that. If you do the yarn knitting method, I would do something like 3 in one row, 2 in the next and so on. That's just an example. Make them about 3-4 inches apart.

Want a personalized experience?

If you sew/quilt, please help!!

Re: If you sew/quilt, please help!!

Choose Another Board

Search Boards