Never buy another panel again

[Kim T]

I bought this panel (speedway by northcott fabrics) for my daughters friend who is having a baby. She and her husband love racing and are expecting a boy. The panel was really long and narrow and wanted to widen it out a bit. When I went to add borders and redo I couldn't believe how out of square this was. We are talking almost 3 inches! I let my local shop know and they are checking the rest of the bolt. Even if I left it alone it would have been wonky!

Anyway I finished surgery today and it is finished not quite what I wanted but they will appreciate the effort. My granddaughter bless her said this doesn't look like you're learning it looks like youre a professional.

[SomerRose]

Hi....you have made a beautiful quilt but I totally understand what you mean regarding panels....I bought a Paddington panel to make a soft book a few years ago but could not make it as it was so distorted.....the shop ended up sending the bolt back
Sadly however this is not just a problem for panels....I have had the same issue with large print fabric. Buying a fat quater and finding I am losing almost a quater to distorted patten....I am now in the habit of getting the person cutting the fabric to check first.

[RFREE]

Perfect for a baby boy. Great job!

[snippet]

oh, dear. that is a problem. I will have to be aware of that when/if I buy a panel.

[SuzyQue]

I think it will be the most perfect quilt for this family and this new little boy! Good job, even it was a hassle!

[Kim T]

Hi....you have made a beautiful quilt but I totally understand what you mean regarding panels....I bought a Paddington panel to make a soft book a few years ago but could not make it as it was so distorted.....the shop ended up sending the bolt back
Sadly however this is not just a problem for panels....I have had the same issue with large print fabric. Buying a fat quater and finding I am losing almost a quater to distorted patten....I am now in the habit of getting the person cutting the fabric to check first.

Good to know about the large prints and fat quarters. It has definitely been a learning experience for me and I will be paying attention to this in the future!

[songbird857]

You did a great job squaring it up! Great quilt

[lmanna]

Very cute -would never have known how wonky it was !

[katier825]

I've worked with some wonky panels and it helps to wet and block them. The ones I did were fine after washing the finished quilt. I didn't need to block them after washing too.

[kensington]

Sorry about all that stress for you. You really should square up anything you buy... be it a panel, or a yard cut or yardage, and even FQ's.

I bought two Frozen panels this year for quilts and once squared up and trimmed, they were a breeze to work with. I've done numerous panel quilts now and I like them. I have three more resting in my fabric closet for me to make up this year.