Pucker up!!

[tkellyd]

Hello all:

I must say that this is the first time that my quilt top has puckered. It's just one medium sized, unfinished puckery mess. Any help on working it out would be appreciated.

Here's the background:

This is an inspired design. I have done things with this quilt that I had no experience with (fusible fabric, decorative stitching, many borders . . . I guess I just threw it all in there!) The star is fused and edges sewn. The first seminole block I had a dickens of a time with trying to get them all to line up around the star. It didn't work and I ended up hand sewing them (did I mention I have no experience with hand stitching?) All of the borders are sewn around each other.
Puckery Quilt Top.jpg

Can you tell me what I've done wrong and how to fix it? Should I take out the star and start over? Remove the borders? Any help would be appreciated.

Best,

- T

[jjkaiser]

Re: Pucker up!!

I love this and I can sure identify with the struggles you had getting your border patterns to fit your space without chopping any part of your design off. That has happened to me and you got it all to fit around your center block beautifully, I'm not sure you could get that lucky if you take it all apart.

Idk what caused the puckering. If it was me I would hand quilt the whole thing, being careful to quilt it in sections, first the right half, then the left. I think quilting will make the puckering much less noticeable or have it disappear altogether. I am a terrible machine quilter, so someone else will have to give you advice about that. I think it is going to be gorgeous when you are all done! Good luck.

[Rhonda K]

Re: Pucker up!!

Can you tell us about the process or directions for adding each set of borders? When you added the borders did you stay-stitch each piece before adding to block center? Did you square up the center block first before adding borders?

Did you measure in 3 places and average together and then cut the border length?

The following method was taught in one of my first quilting classes and it works for me.

Stay stitch around each length of border strip using a 2.0 stitch length. Don't pivot around the corners but simply run off and start again on next corner. Stitch so the line sits inside of the 1/4 inch line meaning it won't show once you add to quilt. Stitch each 4 sides of the border, THEN Press the piece. This process may seem like too much extra work but it may add 3 or 4 minutes to your project.

Mark the centers of border and quilt. Pin at top and bottom. Match the center marks and pin together. Then do the same between TOP and CENTER. Keep working on marking and pining entire border and quilt together, then stitch together

Another tip, I've used is to "square up" the whole quilt again after adding each set of border strips.

Just a suggestion, take measurements of each set of borders and check for square. You may be able to adjust with a little creative seam ripping and re-stitching. Did you also check that the seam allowance was consistent throughout the piecing process?

Good luck!

[tkellyd]

Re: Pucker up!!

Hello all:

JJKaiser:

I've only quilted by machine once, for my niece (she was three at the time and I'm quite sure she didn't have much to say about the poor quality but loved all of the mermaid princesses! ). For the record, I have not been quilting for a year yet.


Rhonda K:

Waayyy too much terminology for me ! That said, I see that I've got much to learn.

The star gave me the biggest hassle as I had not done anything like it before and it may be what threw off the whole thing (oh, and the seminole strips used as a border as well).

I did not pivot around corners; I did run off and restart on the next side. My quarter inch seams were fine. Maybe I should have stitched from the other side and not running all in one direction? I do remember Jenny saying something about that in one of her tutorials. Maybe that's the problem?

I was pressing the entire time. Didn't use starch or anything.

I pieced each border together and added them afterward. I measured after sewing the border/before putting on another.

As for squaring, I did notice that it was coming out of square and added a thicker border, squared it up, and kept going.

Sounds like I did a whole lot of wrong. I've made about six quilts in the year that I've been quilting but never had this problem. I guess I will be doing some ripping!

Thanks for all of the advise!

Best,

- Therese

[KarenC]

Re: Pucker up!!

First let me say this is awesome for only quilting for about a year. If it were me, I would not rip it out. I think I would stitch in the ditch to outline each of the designs surrounding the star (I think you called it Seminole block - that terminology is beyond my level). After that I would do a simple straight line meandering between those and the star, sort of close together. This would push down your background and show off the designs. I'm sure you'll have others pop in and give some advise/tips.

[Over40momma]

Re: Pucker up!!

Therese; Please don't get disheartened honey. You can do everything right and still have issues pop up just because life has an odd sense of humor. I looks to me as if some of the fabrics are stretching while others aren't......probably some are cut where bias is an issue. The amount of "play" can be fixed by quilting. You can "preview" the effect by taking some pins and put them in following the design you are quilting. This will let you know if you are on the right track.

Regardless of the challenge you are facing right now, it is a beautiful quilt.

[Rhonda K]

Re: Pucker up!!

Oh dear!

I didn't mean to overwhelm you with terminology. Your quilt is beautiful and such an accomplishment. I'm a newbie too and can't do anything without taking a class. Wonder if using two layers of batting would help when you quilt it? Hopefully, other helpers will come along with suggestions for you. Good luck.

[tkellyd]

Re: Pucker up!!

Thanks everyone!

I hadn't thought of quilting it myself. As with all but my first quilt, I had thought to let folks at MSQC handle the quilting, but now I'm not so sure as there would be a longarm quilter whose day I might not make pleasant!

I will say that I thought that I was doing myself a favor by squaring it as I went along but I'm not so sure that it was the right thing to do. Surely it doesn't look like it made any impact (except make it worse, maybe?)

As for the terminology and classes, I haven't heard some of the terms and I've never taken a class. I've only used the quilting techniques on MSQC (except for the quilt top above. I don't think that Jenny would have led me astray like I have done to myself). My most technical to date is the small Periwinkle Quilt in king size (Yup, paper pieced all of it). It's my masterpiece although I've not sent it out yet to be quilted.

If I did quilt it myself, I'm not sure if I (my machine) could handle it. I have an old Bernina Record 730 from 1969. I think I've just about killed it in the year that I've had it (although the Bernina engineer pulled it from the brink!)

- T

[tkellyd]

Re: Pucker up!!

Over40momma:

I will try the pinning technique that you suggest. It might help me to see where I went wrong and how to fix it.

- T

[grammaterry]

Re: Pucker up!!

Ok, so sometimes we get lucky and sometimes ignorance is bliss. Stop being so hard on yourself. Its a good quilt. Plowing ahead is how we learn. Last year I made 30 quilts. I was brand new to FMQ. My first attempts were not great, but then again, they were better than I had done before I tried it. Practice will get you better. So...why not just keep this quilt and practice with it. I don't know how large it is but, it won't be too hard to try quilting. I can't afford to send my quilts out yet...they aren't good enough...but I find that I can make a good quilt that is very serviceable. Hand quilting won't take much more than 25 hours on a medium sized quilt. You can put it on a frame or you can put it in a hoop and get it done. Sure, you'll have somepuckers and bunching and it will frustrate you...but this is going to be the quilt you look back on and see how much you have improved. Your pattern and colors are wonderful and it could be there was just too many new things to tackle in one project. If you have mastered the 1/4 inch seam, you are on your way. I'm working on nesting and getting much better at it. After you get each skill improved you'll be ready to tackle a new one. Remember to have fun with this new hobby and in time you will awe all your friends, family and strangers that you meet.

[tkellyd]

Re: Pucker up!!

Thanks grammaterry for the pep talk.;

Unfortunately, this quilt is a gift. The star in the middle frustrated me to no end. The seminole strips frustrated me to no end. I've got to get this figured out, and I will. It starts today!

My other quilts were so good that I did have them professionally quilted. They were much more complex than this one, which is why I'm frustrated. This was supposed to be easy! I mean, I was just going around in a square, right? No biggie; I've got this! Or so I thought. Ah, well, back to quilting.

Thanks everyone!

All the best,

- T

[Deegles]

Re: Pucker up!!

There are alot of bias seams. Those seams can cause the not-so-flat surface. Your longarmer has a trick for recovering the quilt to a flat surface to quilt. They load your quit onto their frame and once taught or tight, they starch and iron the quilt. The heat causes the fibers to relax and then starch and everything shifts flat. Your quit is beautiful and I would have a longarmer quilt it. I sent off one of my disappearing pinwheel quilts to missouri star and at the junctions of the bias cuts coming together it formed peaks. When it came back those bumps were gone. I cannot find the video, but I have posted it before. I will continue to look.

[Deegles]

Re: Pucker up!!

Here is one video there is a better video but I cannot find it.

[PrettyCurious]

Re: Pucker up!!

I can't help you, but Holy Cow! I love your borders!!!!

[traildancer]

Re: Pucker up!!

Quilting can remove many puckers. I made a Thoroughly Modern Lily from Paulette at "The Way I Sew It." The design was circular. When I laid the quilt out to sandwich I was dismayed at the poufs in the quilt. I chose to keep the borders straight(ish) and decided to see if I could "quilt that out." When I stitched in the ditch within the motifs, I was amazed at how much pouf went away. And even more went away when I stitched around the outside of the motif. It ended up, I only had to take out one short piecing seam and take up the extra to make the sashing lie flat. Whew.

So it is possible. Your quilt is pretty. I like your colors. You have done a great job.

Also, a friend told me that you are only one wash away from a perfect quilt. Now I don't depend on laundering to make my quilt perfect, but it can hide many bobbles! Don't give up.