Quilt Prep Intructions

After sharing the other post about "10 things your longarm quilter wants you to know"; I thought it would be best for me to share, with those of you who I quilt for,
the quilt prep steps that help me when machine quilting your quilts.

These steps save me oodles of time, which keeps your cost of quilting down.

Please take the time to review these.  Thank you!

These quilt prep tips have been added to the Quilt Prep tab on the top right of
my blog, for your convenience and future reference.

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Please do the following before bringing or sending your quilts to be machine quilted.

Make sure your batting and quilt backing are at least 4" bigger than your quilt top on ALL sides.

Please make sure your quilt back and quilt front are squared up (no extra fabric hanging off any end) and cut exactly straight.  Otherwise it is difficult to have the quilt lay flat and be tight on the quilting frames.

Please iron your quilt front and back well.  It helps prevent puckers and pleats while I’m quilting. 

Leave the selvage on the top and bottom of your quilt back, this helps the top and bottom edge to be straight, which is a must!

Trim all threads on your quilt, the top of the quilt and the back where all of your seams are.   

Borders have a habit of growing when they are on the machine.  To prevent that, measure your quilt and cut your borders to size.  Then pin the borders on, starting at each end, then the middle, then several places between.  This is especially important on multiple large borders.

The quilt top should be free of button, beads, etc. for best quilting results.  The quilt back should be free of ribbons, buttons, beads or wool applique. 

Bring your quilt front and back separated, nicely folded or on a hanger.  Quilt front and backs that are folded up together or brought in a sack get wrinkled easily.   

Don't pin or baste your quilt layers together.  Each layer will be pinned to the machine individually.   

When piecing Minky, make sure you have the stretches going the same way, otherwise I will not quilt it.  It is also important to cut the minky straight, especially before piecing.  Check out this video I made for more tips on Minky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2SDbAcL56g 

Sheets are not considered suitable backing for quilts, because of the high thread count. 

Quilting jeans:  I've decided that I will not be quilting jean quilts.  The thickness of the jeans is tough on our machine.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

ŸIf you need a quilt quilted by a certain date please call ahead of time and let me know.  If you desire to be added to my list, I require the quilt to be to me within 2 weeks of the deadline, or a rush fee will be charged.  I will try my best to help you, however I quilt on a first come first serve basis.  Rush fees are between $25 to $65, depending on the size, quilting design, and size of your quilt.        

To get pricing about quilting and sewing please contact me at: Quiltingit@gmail.com