Cedar

I have finished piecing my first ispy baby quilt top for a little girl arriving at the end of the month. This will be the first quilted quilt I've completed (I've quilted potholders and birthed a lap quilt) and at this point I have a bunch of decision making stuff and questions that I figured an outside perspective could help with.

Obviously there's a couple of squares that still need trimmed. I also have a couple of places where the fabric is puckering. This was my first time doing different sized squares and I ended up sewing in a strange order in some places. Is there a good way to fix this?

Border -- do I need one? I know there are lots of great quilts without borders, but if it will look better with a border than I should have one. The dimensions are 33" x 49" I'm also wondering if a border will be mechanically useful -- since binding is still pretty new to me would having something between the blocks and the binding make it more forgiving of mistakes?

Backing -- I have a 43" x 26" piece of fabric that I want to use on the backing. It's not a panel, but it has a nicely flowing repeat that my boyfriend insists shouldn't be cut. Obviously I'll need to add fabric to this. Originally I'd thought I would just add borders, but now I'm not sure. I'm remembering making the back bigger than the front for shifting room and I'm thinking of a lot of ways shifting could be horrible with a centered panel. Is there a trick to this?

Chasezzz

I would square up the top and do a small solid border around it because it will make it easier to bind, given that it is your first quilt. I would use the panel for the back with sashing around it to make it a bit larger than the front. Use a nice flat-laying batting like Quilter's Dream 70/30 or Hobbs 80/20 and use spray quilter's adhesive to make your "sandwich." This will keep your backing from slipping out of place after you very carefully position it on the back (I would mark the corners of the front quilted piece with straight pins through the top and batting to show allow you to center the back panel properly as you are adhering it to the batting that has the spray on it). Then machine quilt with straight lines, square up again and do your binding. Have fun!

ckcowl

Square it up and give it a good pressing. A border would give you a straight, seam free edge to bind, but you could also just sew a line all the way around the outer edge to keep your seams securely. Put borders around your backing so it is a couple inches all the way around larger than the top. Your batting should be a bit larger too. When you put the (sandwich) together the top should be centered on top of the batting/backing, so your*panal* backing should be fine. As for {shifting} that should Not be happening. You can use any number of methods for basting your sandwich to keep it from shifting. There is fusible batting, spray basting, glue basting, pin basting, or thread basting. Which ever method you choose should be done to keep your quilt from shifting while quilting.

nanna-up-north

Your first quilt..... congrats!! You're getting some good suggestions but I'll add a comment or two.

1. Do square it up and add a border to help with keeping things nice and straight... and the binding issue.

2. When you have it sandwiched and ready to quilt, be sure to use a walking foot so the top doesn't scoot and you get tucks. You want to keep things as smooth as possible. Start in the middle and stitch to the edges. If there is any shifting, starting in the middle helps. I find that keeping my stitching lines parallel and moving out helps too.

And we'll be here to help you with the binding when you're ready.

estrogen

I finished piecing my quilt and am going to take it to the longarmer. Should I square it up before I take it? Or should I do it after it's quilted?

Cedar

I have a stripe I was considering using for the border. Is there a reason a solid would be a better choice? Any suggestions as far as size or color?

When I did my potholders I glues stick basted and it worked fine. However, I used a single piece of fabric and made it a couple inches bigger than trimmed it down before basting. Do I need to make my pieced backing bigger knowing some of it will be cut away?

Cedar

Border achieved! You're right it does look better with one. I keep wondering if the border should have been bigger and what to use for binding, but I'm ready for the back.

marilynr

I like your striped border. Keep up the good work.