D cup quilt top

I was asked "What is a D cup top?" and I thought I would answer here instead of in a comment reply.  I can use this post as the first one in a tutorial about doing D cup quilt tops.

You've read me type-talk about quilts with friendly borders.  Friendly borders are when there is so much extra fullness to the border that it waves a lot.  Well a D cup top is the opposite.  The borders are much smaller than the center area.  See the curve in it?

Think of a bra.  The fabric part that is next to your chest is flat and hugs your body.  That would be the border.  The fabric part that goes over the breasts has extra fullness to cover it.  That's the cup size.  Of course you know that part already but how is this quilt a D cup top?

When I get quilt tops with borders smaller than the top, I grade the fullness in the center by cup size.  An A cup is a little extra fullness in the center and is easily quilted out.  B cup is a little more fullness in the center but still manageable with quilting.  C cup is more fullness and is somewhat difficult to quilt out.  D cup is the maximum amount of fullness in the top I feel confident I can work out with a quilting design.  Anything larger and I would ask the owner to fix the borders.  I can expect a D cup top to require a lot of fussing and fiddling to get it done.  Extra hours of work but no extra pay for it.

On occasion I do quilt some tops that are larger than a D cup but those are usually inherited tops the owner simply wants quilted so it can be cherished.   Or they might be tops done by a handicapped person who has done the best they can already.  Or the tops might be done by a senior, senior.  I have one customer I quilted for, for many years.  I quilted one for her a few months ago and she is 92 years old.  

I shouldn't have waited so long about getting this one on the machine.  It's due to be finished by Friday, including the binding and a hanging sleeve.  Instead of spending time on the computer figuring out the problems or having company stay all day three days in a row, I should have started on this quilt.  Now I'm paying the price for waiting until the last minute.  Really, I should have checked it sooner.  

I can finish it on time.... only if that's all I do for a few days.  No cooking, no cleaning, no gardening, no company.  I let the answering machine pick up for me and I put a "do not disturb" sign on the front door.  My only computer time will be to briefly check my email or to write a quick blog post.  If there is something urgent in my email, I answer, otherwise it will wait until the quilt is finished.  

I'll write the tutorial posts about quilting a D cup top as soon as this quilt is finished.  My supper is ready and there is more quilting time before bedtime.  

Attaching borders

Very few toppers make quilt borders correctly.  Toppers are people who make only the top of a quilt then have someone else quilt it.  Most toppers will simply cut long strips then sit down to sew these to the top.  Without ever measuring or pinning they sew the long strips along the side of the top until they get to the end then whack it off.  What they don't realize is that the fabric is being fed through at two different rates.  The feed dogs are pulling the bottom fabric in at one rate and their hand is guiding the top fabric at a different rate. 

That is a technique used in garment making to "ease in" extra fullness between two pattern pieces.  In making a garment, say for example, the sleeve is larger than the arm hole it is attached to.  In order to work in the extra fullness the sleeve is on the bottom so the feed dogs pull it more and the arm opening is on top so the sewer can pull or stretch it to fit the sleeve.

The easing technique really should not be used when attaching borders to a quilt top because it creates a very friendly border.   A friendly border is one that waves a lot.  Here's my way of attaching borders to prevent the waves.  I learned it from someone years ago and don't remember who. 

Measure across one end.

Measure across the middle.

Measure across the top.

Average these three measurements together and cut the strips to that length.  My average came out to be 41 1/2 inches.  I cut two strips this length.  One for the top edge and one for the bottom edge.

Lay one strip along the bottom edge.  Pin in the center and at both ends.  Then easing in the fullness, start pinning the rest of the border to the top.  I use lots of pins.  I pin about every two inches.  Sew these borders on making sure that the beginning and the ending remains even.  

After you have the two borders sewn onto the top.  Press them out.  Turn the top to once again measure the quilt across the top, middle, and bottom but adding the previously sewn borders into the measurement.  Average the three figures to get your new measurement.  This technique is not the same as it would be for mitered corners. 

Repeat the steps for pinning.... center, right end, left end..... and pin in between.  If you measure and use an average instead of just sewing long strips, you end up with a top and bottom border of the exact same length.  The same is true with the side borders.  If the borders are cut the same exact size, you end up with a fairly square quilt and no friendliness.

Without measuring and cutting borders first it's extremely rare the borders end up the same size.  Once in awhile someone gets lucky and the borders end up the same size.  Fabric stretches and will not behave.  Even on grain fabric has a small bit of stretch to it.  At least if you cut the borders the same size you know they will be the same size when sewn to the top.  You will also make your quilter much happier.  Even if that quilter is you.  It's very difficult to make a really square quilt if one border is larger (friendlier) than the other.    

Setting triangles three ways

A few days ago I told someone I would write a post about how to prevent stretching of the setting triangles when doing on point quilts.  I said I'd have to make some tops so I could take photos.  Well, here are three examples using two tops.  These are steps to take before adding a border.  I'll write another post about how to put on borders without making them very friendly (wave a lot).  Here's one of my on point quilt tops.

When doing square setting of blocks there is a very little stretch.  You can pull side to side or top to bottom on the rows and get only minimal stretch because of the seams.

Turn the blocks on point then pull on the left and right or top to bottom and you get lots of stretch.  That's because you are now pulling on the bias.

Here you have to use your imagination a tad bit.  Imagine the dark green fabric is what I want to be my setting triangles before adding a border.  Instead of cutting triangles for the settings, I use full size squares and piece them on the end of the rows just like the rest of the blocks. 

I carefully cut a 1/4 inch seam along the outside.   

Now can you see the setting triangles?

Ok, we don't want these triangles to stretch any more than absolutely necessary.  Especially when the top is put onto a quilting machine.  Carefully, sew just a tiny bit inside the cut edge.  1/16th inch.  Be very careful not to pull on this while stitching.  My hand usually stays way off to the side to guide the fabric. 

I use a small screw driver as a stiletto to guide the intersections under the presser foot.  My needle is set to the farthest it will go to  the right.  The edge of the fabric rides just at the edge of the presser foot.

Here the stitching is shown after it's done.  We have a little stretch but not nearly as much as cutting the triangles first then sewing in.

Press (don't iron) the triangles with a little steam.  Pressing is lifting the iron in up and down motions.  Ironing is moving back and forth without raising the iron.  See how the triangles are behaving themselves?  This is now ready to measure and add a border.

Here is the second way to do setting triangles.  Just a little different than the previous one.

This time instead of cutting along the 1/4 inch line, just draw a line a tiny bit shy of where you plan to cut.  I draw my line at 3/16th inch. 

Now sew on that line all the way around.  Using the same technique as before to prevent stretching while stitching.

Next, cut your 1/4 inch.... or whatever size you want.  With this method you can cut whatever distance you want past that sewn line.  You do, however, want to sew your border (or binding) so this sewn line ends up inside the quilt and not seen from the front.

Ok, you don't like the wasted fabric of doing setting triangles either of those ways.  Here's a technique just for you.  Most quilters will cut squares of fabric then cut the squares on the diagonal to get triangles. 

Here's a better way.  Turn the square over and draw a diagonal line corner to corner.  This will be your cutting line.

Now sew all the way around the outside 1/16th inch away from the edge. But also sew 1/16th inch away from the drawn line on both sides too.

You can see the stitching better from the front.

Carefully cut on the drawn line and you have two setting triangles with stay stitching.  You can continue to work with these triangles without worry of stretching. 

These three techniques are what I've done for many years.   I had these instructions on my blog a long time ago but deleted them when I thought I would have to give up internet.  True, doing stay stitching does add more work to creating tops.... but what's the hurry?  You wouldn't pin the squares together then layer and quilt without sewing the squares together would you?  Of course not.  Stay stitching is simply a step in the process of creating an on point quilt top.  I can't think of a single magazine or book that shows stay stitching as one important step in doing on point quilts.  Yet, it's a very important step for preventing hourglass shifting or extremely friendly borders. 

On point quilt part three

This is the blocks I told you I would work on next.  I'm helping a friend and I also went to this area next  because I like to work in the area of the largest amount of fullness first then move to the next largest fullness and so forth.  Nine times out of ten the largest amount is in the border.  That's not the case with this quilt though.  If I work in one area it will compound the issue in other areas.  Hmm.... I'm not explaining this very well.  Ok, when you quilt an area it draws up with the quilting.  There's nothing wrong, it's just the nature of quilting.  If you quilt an area with very little fullness, it compounds the effects on the area that does have lots of fullness.  In order to overcome the effects I quilt the full areas first so they can't be compounded.    Maybe the photos will help me explain a little better.  So here's the block.  I've decided to treat this block as 4 sections instead of one large design. 

I taped off the first area and quilted the design.  I used my hand to smooth and distribute the fullness as evenly as I could.  Notice how the design lines do not cross over themselves?  The lines touch but don't cross.  This prevents tucks.  Look closely to see where the fullness is between the lines of stitching.

I move the tape and quilt the next section.  Notice how I moved the tape so it partially covers the previous stitched design?  That's so the design is closer together when finished. 

I move the tape to the third section and quilt it. 

Here I'm ready to do the last section of this block. 

Here's the finished block.  Sorry about the dark picture.  Batteries were getting low.  If you look closely you will see the extra fullness within the stitching lines but there are no tucks anywhere.  After this quilt is washed a couple of times even the extra fullness will not show anymore.  The fabric threads will relax into the batting.  You see.... I really can "quilt that out" for my customers.  Knock on wood! Someone may be lurking around with an issue quilt waiting to challenge me.  Grin... I can handle it.

For those who work with pantographs instead of freehand.... you can do this too.   I used to do this same technique with pantos before I learned to do freehand.  Choose a panto with no crossing lines.  Treat each large square block as if it's a tiny quilt top.  Don't look at the squares around it.... just focus on the one square.  Get it quilted and move to the next tiny quilt top. 

There was an issue that kept creeping into my eyesight.  Can you see the dark string under the white fabric?  It was bugging the heck out of me. 

Out comes my trusty crochet needle and in a short minute it was out of there.

All gone and now you never know it was ever there. 

The next area I'm quilting is the setting triangles.

On point quilt part two

Now that I've gotten the whole quilt stabilized by stitching in the ditch around all the blocks and the borders, it's time to start the quilting.  I prefer to do the outside borders first.  This is the area that will have the largest amount of fullness.... in most cases.  There are times when the borders are smaller than the top creating a "D" cup top. 

For this quilt I need designs that do not cross over themselves.  The stitching lines may touch but not cross over.  The reason is to keep the extra fullness between the stitching lines but not be pushed into a previous stitching line.  That's really hard to describe so look at this photo.  The stitching lines go back and forth in arcs, to touch in the points, but does not cross over itself.  You see what I mean? 

Here the design is stitched out.  Can you see how the extra fullness is worked in between the stitching lines?  Click on the photo to get a larger view.  If I had done a design that crossed over itself, there would be tiny tucks at the crossings. 

Here is how I measured to keep the scallops somewhat even.  I'm not trying to make a show quality quilt, just one that looks really nice in spite of the issues.  I measured the border from the stitching line on one side to the stitching line of the other side then divided it by 3.  I can make my scallops best at between 2 1/2 and 3 inches.  It came out to just a smidgen more than three inches for each one.  Everybody knows what a smidgen is don't they?  It's about the same amount as a pinch or a dash.  Anyway, I put a small chalk mark where the scallops should touch the inside border.  Those marks are my target as I make the scallops. 

Instead of doing the inside border next I'm going to work on the solid blocks.  Partly because Kathi has an issue quilt up next on her machine and I want her to see what's possible.  Mostly I'm doing these because I work the areas with the greatest amount of fullness first.  You can see the solid blocks have quite a bit of fullness to deal with. 

I'll be working on these today and will have pictures here tomorrow.

Adding borders after quilting

I want to add borders to this quilt.  It's a wall hanging that needs more oomph.  A bright color border might help.  As you can see, it's already quilted.  So how do I add borders to a quilt that's already quilted?  Duh, one piece at a time.  Just kidding but basically that's true.  The backing is added, then the border, then the batting. 

 I'm adding a 5 inch border to this one.  I thought I could add an 8 inch border but there wasn't enough of the fabric I wanted to use.  So 5 inch became the size.

Lay the quilt upside down like this and measure the end.

Get some backing fabric and cut it to the size you want to add.   For this quilt I'm making the backing fabric 10 inches wide.  I need extra backing fabric because I plan to put it back onto my quilting machine to do the border quilting.

Pin the backing to the back of the quilt and sew it down with a quarter inch seam as usual.

I'm always in a hurry so I tend to pin on two opposite sides before sewing.

Here the two sides of the backing fabric are sewn on and opened up.

Now measure the remaining sides (including the previous border fabric) and cut backing pieces to fit them. 

Again, I tend to pin the two opposites sides before sewing.

Now open those two sides and you can see the backing fabric has been added. 

Can you see this little area where I sewed across the previous seam?  I frog stitch (pick out) the seam allowance only. 

That's so I can fold the backing fabric completely out of the way like this. 

Pin on a border fabric and then stitch it on.  Oops!  I skipped taking a couple of pictures.  Hmm.... I could have sworn I took those photos but can't figure out where they went.  Anyway, you are going to fold back the backing and add a border piece to all four sides. 

The only place where you will encounter a problem is when adding a border piece to where one has already been added.  At the corners.  You should sew just to the seam line.  Remove the needle and cut the thread.  Fold back the other backing fabric out of the way and sew just the two pieces of the border fabric.  Do not catch the backing in the stitching. 

Here are the 4 borders added to the quilt.

Now it's time to add the batting.  You want the batting to be the same type as you have used in the quilt.  Cut a piece of batting larger than the added border.  You will butt the new batting up to the old batting without over lapping.  If you overlap you will get a lump at the seam. 

Usually I use a spray baste to hold the added batting.  Hmm... my spray baste seems to have ran away and hid from me or else the quilt gremlins got it.  I used a glue stick so I could finish this post.  A little glue next to where the two batting pieces will butt up against each other is all I need.  Later I can add a strip of iron in stabilizer if it needs more hold.

Open the new border onto the new batting and backing then pin to hold it all in place temporarily.

Go to the border on the opposite side and do the same thing.  Repeat for the rest of the sides.

Be sure to either use a spray baste or a glue stick to hold the batting together really well in this area too.  This is where the batting of one side meets the batting of the adjacent side. 

See how I just butted them together where the two side pieces meet?  See how the batting just butts up to the old batting along the seam line?  There won't be any lumps here.

Here all four borders, backing, and batting have been added.  I can keep adding more borders if I want using the same technique.

There have been times when I've sewn both a backing piece and a border piece on at the same time.  I almost always have a problem with one or the other when doing them that way.  It almost always requires a bunch of frog stitching.  I do each one individually these days to avoid those headaches.  I hate frog stitching.

I know this post was done hastily so if anyone doesn't understand the process please let me know.  I'll see if I can  redo the explanations.