Sending Me Something for "Free" Quilting? Here are some extra tips...

We're coming down to the point where people are sending quilts my way.  I'm really loving all the packages & seeing the creativity of people! So many awesome palettes for Mr. Darcy and I to do our very best work (even as we're still learning.)  Mr. Darcy also has appreciated the little gifts of thread that have been arriving, and the variety of battings that we get to try!

However, I think that people have interpreted my "rules" a little bit differently than I hoped, so I thought I would clarify a few things.  I am planning to put together a little booklet to help people prep their quilts for longarming, but in the mean time, before I get any more quilts, I thought I'd give more help since many of you are probably not familiar with what you need to do.  I promise my booklet will be a little more diplomatic, but right now, out of 15 quilts I've received, only 2 people sent quilts that could go (almost) from box to loading in the frame. I've prepped 10 quilts today and I'm just pooped! So this is going to sound a little bit huffy, but please know I'm not picking on anyone in particular, and I recognize that if you've never sent quilts out to be long armed, you don't know what you don't know.

1. PRESS your tops & backing.  PLEASE. The only way you'll know they are square is if you take the time to get the quilt top as flat as possible. Starch is your friend. I really cannot emphasize this enough. Yes, I know that right after you press your top, it's going into a box, but when it gets here, I only want to deal with lightly pressing out folds, not figuring out which way to press your seams to get your quilt to lay flat.  And YES, I can tell the difference between a pressed top and a non-pressed top.  :)
2. Don't stuff your nicely pressed quilts any which way in the box. The $1.00 you just saved on postage costs me $15.00 to fix. Take the time to fold them nicely in the box. Yes, I know they will still get a little wrinkled, but pressing out folds is so much easier than unscrunching your quilts.
3. Don't fold the top, backing, and batting together like a sandwich.  And especially do not baste the layers together.  Not only does this cause more wrinkles, but I have to spend extra time deconstructing the sandwich, and then completely press your top & backing, again. Your quilt goes on my machine in 3 separate layers; please send them that way.
4. SQUARE your quilt top AND the backing.  I know that as home quilters, we're used to just making the backing "bigger" without worrying about it being square. I can understand being off a little bit (like 1/2" or something like that) but please don't send backings with odd flaps hanging off of them or staircase seams along the edge.  Square is straight on all four sides. Quilt tops are a little tricky because you don't want to have to chop into your borders, but do the best you can. If you're not up to the task or you don't have a work surface big enough to do it, I can help you, but that is something I will have to charge you to do, and you need to let me know to expect it.
5. MARK the centers of your top, backing, and batting along the top & bottom edges. No, not the very center of your quilt. The center of what you consider to be the top and bottom edges of your top & backing. Please use safety pins and not straight pins if you don't want me bleeding all over your quilt.  :)  Don't assume that the center of your quilt is where you put the seam in your border or on your block. Measure it, along the edge, and put the pin in the center. (Please do #1 before #5.) This does two things: first, it helps me with prepping your quilt to go on the frame - you mark the center of the quilt, I know the center of my frame, and PRESTO! I can load it square & centered. Second, it tells me what YOU consider to be the top & bottom of your quilt & not the sides. Maybe you intended this quilt to lay across something that's wider than it is tall. If I chose to line up ducks in a row on your quilt but they are now swimming sideways, it's unfortunate but could have been avoided if you marked your quilt. Make me guess at your own peril...
6. Make your backings 6" bigger on ALL sides. This means that if your quilt is 30" x 40", your backing is at least 42" x 52".  On smaller quilts this isn't as critical (if it's only 40" x 50" I won't whine) but on larger quilts this is really, really important. Large quilts can be unruly, even in a frame, and having a wider backing gives me something to hold onto at the sides as well as "fudge space" since the backing will shrink the more stitches that get put into it.
7. If you piece your backing, NOTA BENE.  Selvages do not make good seams.  They are the tightest weave on a fabric & they have absolutely no forgiveness.  My long arm hates them, and you'll end up with pulled threads in the backing if I stitch across a selvage in a seam.  If you need to piece your backing, please cut off any selvages that will be in a seam. Also, use a wider seam allowance than you would use piecing (like 1/2") and press seams OPEN, especially if you're using really large pieces of single fabrics. Of course I know this is not always possible, but side-pressed seams in the backing create extra bulk, and sometimes they can get twisted and make a really ugly mess on the back. Straight seams in your backing are just as important as straight seams in your top, so don't get lazy and ignore a consistent seam allowance just because you're almost done! (Also, try not to piece your backing with a long seam running down the very center of your quilt; this isn't really for long arming, it just creates an additional stress point for your quilt since most people can't help but fold quilts in half.)

 I really, really want to do my very best to make your quilts turn out nicely! I know that I'm practicing, but that doesn't mean that I want to treat your quilts like a painter's drop cloth.  Instead, your quilts are my painter's canvas, and each quilt that I work on I would like to represent the very best that I am capable of at that moment in time.  Not spending time doing things that I know you all are capable of doing yourselves gives me more time quilting, and it's also a good lesson for you if you want to send your quilts out in future.  The time you invest in preparing your quilt gives me the very best starting point to play and create!


Happy quilting!