Quilting a big quilt
#1
Quilting a big quilt
This quilt is humongous. It fits my California king bed. Unfortunately it is not for me !!😁it’s for my sons girlfriend for her graduation. I have only quilted on my Jenome and have enjoyed it and have done a pretty good job. I really wanted to quilt a pattern but now that I am sitting before my machine and have this huge quilt in front of me I have no idea what to do. Will try to attach pictures later.
#2
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 1,398
This quilt is humongous. It fits my California king bed. Unfortunately it is not for me !!😁it’s for my sons girlfriend for her graduation. I have only quilted on my Jenome and have enjoyed it and have done a pretty good job. I really wanted to quilt a pattern but now that I am sitting before my machine and have this huge quilt in front of me I have no idea what to do. Will try to attach pictures later.
#3
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 1,231
Even "future daughters in law" or even wives, can go..I wouldn't use that as a criteria. If you tell us what the pattern is maybe we can help you choose a quilting method/ and or design. In general, on a sit down machine, I would work very, very hard to roll one side tightly..but I have doubts that a Cali King size could ever fit under a domestic machine...I would roll as tightly as I could to the halfway point and see if it will even fit under your machine arm.
If it doesn't, there is a way that I saw where a lady only used batting down part of her quilt, she did it in thirds, starting with the center..she cut the batting in a wave pattern so there wouldn't be a permanent crease when she joined the outer 2 sides...that reduced the bulk and she was able to a large quilt on a domestic machine that way.
other than that, you may be looking at sending it out or renting a longarm...or handstitching!
If it doesn't, there is a way that I saw where a lady only used batting down part of her quilt, she did it in thirds, starting with the center..she cut the batting in a wave pattern so there wouldn't be a permanent crease when she joined the outer 2 sides...that reduced the bulk and she was able to a large quilt on a domestic machine that way.
other than that, you may be looking at sending it out or renting a longarm...or handstitching!
#4
Power Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 41,539
With a large quilt, I choose a quilting pattern that can be done by quartering the quilt. I do the upper half starting in the center and work upwards to the edge. I then go back to the center and work down to the bottom quarter edges. Then I completely rotate the quilt so that the other half can go into the machine harp and do the next two quarters the same way. Good Luck!
#5
Check out Marti Mitchell's "Machine Quilting in Sections". It demonstrates several different ways of quilting a large quilt on a domestic machine. I used "low fat quilting' to do the quilt that is my avatar. It made it so much easier.
#6
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,568
I'm with rvsfan above, is this for a girlfriend that has been with your son for a long time. Did she ask for a quilt, does she want a quilt? Many of us have gifted a quilt only to find out the receiver doesn't like quilts. Or we've gifted a quilt and find out it's not their colors, they wanted a smaller one or larger one and the quilt ends up in the closet or it becomes a regift or a dog bed.
#7
I quilt on my domestic too. I don't do fancy intricate feather wreaths or such but on large quilts I will quilt diagonally corner to corner or straight line and off set from the patterns of the blocks if the pattern is geometric. When in a hurry and if it fits the pattern of the blocks I will do wavy lines. (Great for quick baby quilts) When I do simple meandering on large or small quilts, I always mentally divide my quilt in quarters as mentioned by other posts. It makes the process so much easier, less manhandling of that large project under the needle.
#9
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 5,968
I quilted a huge one a king with a full drop. Never again. I did get thru it by conquering it in 4 sections. If you can get to the center, it can be done. If you can't get to the center, I'd get a long armer to do it. My advice is to do an all over. I did mine in what I call a loop de loop. Whenever I got into a corner with my quilting, I could loop de loop out since threads crossed over each other in the design. As long as I didn't go straight, it worked.
#10
I have already seen mention of quilting in sections which is exactly what I do with most of my very large quilts. I have one ready to do right now. It is already basted in 4 sections as is ready to go under the machine. I have done a number of quilts this way using different designs. The only reason this one quilt remains as it is right now is because I want to become proficient with ruler work before I start on this one.