My charitable quilting group is now using batting that comes on a huge roll. I guess it's the most economical option they can find. Until now, I've never had to deal with it b/c I just pieced tops and kept the fabric stash folded and organized. Recently, however, the person that trims the quilts after the binding is applied quit (b/c of arthritis) and today I was drafted into the job.
So here's the problem. The batting is very high loft poly. I'd say it's almost an inch high if it's just lying flat on a table. Our group first sandwiches and pins the quilts, then they are tied. After that they apply the binding to the top. After that, they trim 1/4" from the seam where the binding is attached to the rest of the quilt ("binding seam"). That's where I came in today.
Let me just say, I had a heck of a time trimming those quilts. The problem is that the binding seam compresses those quilt so much that the backing isn't lying flat. I had to constantly tug at the backing to get it to try and lie flat while I trimmed the edge. Oftentimes, I still ended up with wider pieces of backing which I then had to hand trim with scissors.
So here's my question. Is there a way to adjust the settings so that the quilt isn't compressed quite so much when the binding is applied, and yet still have a sturdy binding seam? The woman who was stitching the binding on today said she has increased the stitch length a llittle bit, but to me, it still looked really small -- like what you would use for piecing. What would you suggest for any and all settings that could make this batting a little easier to deal with?
A couple of other points. The binding lady at one one point commented as she was applying the binding to a flannel quilt that her pressure foot was getting "buried" or "lost". Also, I noticed while trimming a couple of quilts that the quilt top looked like it wasn't lying flat -- like it was getting pulled down from where it should have been attached to the binding. Also, I should mention that the ladies do not pin the binding to the quilt before sewing. They just feed in in/on as they go.
So really, lots of problems with using this batting. Any suggestions you could offer would be greatly appreciated.
So here's the problem. The batting is very high loft poly. I'd say it's almost an inch high if it's just lying flat on a table. Our group first sandwiches and pins the quilts, then they are tied. After that they apply the binding to the top. After that, they trim 1/4" from the seam where the binding is attached to the rest of the quilt ("binding seam"). That's where I came in today.
Let me just say, I had a heck of a time trimming those quilts. The problem is that the binding seam compresses those quilt so much that the backing isn't lying flat. I had to constantly tug at the backing to get it to try and lie flat while I trimmed the edge. Oftentimes, I still ended up with wider pieces of backing which I then had to hand trim with scissors.
So here's my question. Is there a way to adjust the settings so that the quilt isn't compressed quite so much when the binding is applied, and yet still have a sturdy binding seam? The woman who was stitching the binding on today said she has increased the stitch length a llittle bit, but to me, it still looked really small -- like what you would use for piecing. What would you suggest for any and all settings that could make this batting a little easier to deal with?
A couple of other points. The binding lady at one one point commented as she was applying the binding to a flannel quilt that her pressure foot was getting "buried" or "lost". Also, I noticed while trimming a couple of quilts that the quilt top looked like it wasn't lying flat -- like it was getting pulled down from where it should have been attached to the binding. Also, I should mention that the ladies do not pin the binding to the quilt before sewing. They just feed in in/on as they go.
So really, lots of problems with using this batting. Any suggestions you could offer would be greatly appreciated.
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