Currently Stitching: Getting Ready for the Longarm

Here we are again. I am looking at a pile of most of the way done quilts that need to be finished. I don't know about the rest of you, but this happens to me quite a bit. Personally, I prefer not to let quilt tops pile up too much. Yes it can get expensive to get them all quilted, but it is always, always worth it! It feels so good to have them completed, and they look so wonderful when finished. And then they can actually be used and enjoyed!

When I was first learning to quilt I remember so many of the ladies saying they just wanted to make quilt tops and not fuss with the rest. I went to so many sit and sews and quilt retreats where they brought tubs of finished quilt tops to share with friends. Some of these women passed away with dozens of completed quilt tops that never made it to the long arm. It sat a little funny with me. So I make a point to finish my projects. They may not all get used every single day, but they will get rotated around throughout the seasons and be well loved.

Which brings me around to the pile I have today. I spend most of my free time in the studio. Which means that at the end of a month, there's usually a few quilts ready to go off to the long armer. I wanted to take time today to talk about how I get ready for that process. 

Whenever I am getting ready to send a quilt off, I spend a lot of time trimming and pressing. It's kind of tedious but it helps the quilts consistently turn out better. The long armer also appreciates the extra effort.

When you flip a quilt over and look at the seams, some times it is very depressing. There are fabrics that shred so much and you can spend hours clipping away these little pieces. But it's so good for the longevity of the quilts. It also helps to prevent extra threads from catching the needle as it is stitched together. Another benefit is that the threads won't show through the lighter fabrics once the quilt is completed.

I tend to obsess a little over the pressing. I usually press every block as a I make it, and then again as I add it to each row. I am as careful as I can be about nesting seams and getting as many to go to the darker fabric as possible. Once I've got the whole quilt top together, I'll iron it again.

I don't work with steam too much. Most of the time it gunks up my iron and then gets on my fabric. **It doesn't happen to everyone, and some folks have recommended distilled water to help avoid this.** Instead I like to keep a spray bottle with a mixture of spray starch and water. I spray from a good distance, onto one side of the fabric. Then I press on from the other side. I feel like it helps protect the fabric and the iron.

Once the front is ready, I make sure the back is all set. Some long armers have a seam preference, if you're not using widleback fabric. If this is the case, just ask them! Mine prefers a horizontal seam. 

When I'm making my seam, I use a half inch allowance. Sometimes I'll sew it two times, just for the additional support. I want my quilts to be used and loved, and I don't want people to worry about them coming apart. Then I iron the whole thing once it's pieced together. I always press this seam open. Then I flip it over and iron it again. 

I know it seems like a lot. But the consistency and quality of the finished quilts is worth the work.

Once everything has been trimmed and pressed, I do my best to fold it up carefully. Yes that means there are some new creases. But most of the long armers will hang the quilt while it's waiting to be loaded on the machine. It allows the fabric to relax and many of these creases go away. A lot of them keep a steamer or iron around in case there's a crease or wrinkle that will affect the quilting. And remember, I use quite a bit of the starch and water mixture which keeps it tidy. So I don't worry about it too much. 

There's another important part of preparation. Always make the backing larger than the front, with 4 inches of extra material on each side. If your front is 70 x 80 inches, your backing needs to be 78 x 88 inches.

You can see when the quilt is loaded on the machine, there's extra backing AND batting on the three visible sides of the quilt (there's also extra at the end). When the it's stretched over the arms of the machine, the extra material is needed to ensure the machine has enough stitching space. The fabrics and batting always stretch when they're being quilted together. The extra material allows this while also keeping the front, batting and back of the quilt aligned.

If you take care throughout the steps of preparation, you'll keep your longarmer happy AND have beautiful quilts that last a lifetime. Then you'll start to accrue piles of quilts that need binding. Just like these.

I hope this helpful and inspiring! Tackling quilt prep can seem daunting at times. But taking each project one step at time makes it manageable. If I can make beautiful, good quality projects, anyone can learn to do it!