Preparing Your Quilt
We are dedicated to treating your quilt with utmost care and attention, upholding our exceptional standards of service. Our goal is to ensure your absolute satisfaction with the quilting design. To facilitate the best possible outcome for your quilt, we kindly request that you review the following checklist. It will help ensure that all necessary steps have been taken to enable us to deliver impeccable results. It's important to note that while machine quilting is a skilled process, it cannot always rectify all issues such as fullness, puckering, subpar sewing, insufficient seam allowance, imprecise border measurements, or irregular quilt squareness.
Preparing Your Top
- DO NOT pin, baste, or use adhesives to attach the top to batting and backing. These should be completely separate from each other.
- I will not quilt any materials that have adhesives applied as these gums up the needle and cause skipped stitches.
- Make sure your quilt is flat. The top of your quilt should lay flat when placed on a firm smooth surface. Any tenting or extra fabric may end up as small folds or overlaps when quilted.
- Make sure your quilt is square. Your quilt should be no more than ¼” difference in any direction – middle, sides, and corner to corner. I can make minor adjustments to length/width, but I cannot make major adjustments when quilting.
- If your quilt top has pieced borders or no borders, stay-stitch 1/4" in all the way around the edge. This keeps the seams from "popping" and prevents stretching when attaching it to the canvas on the rollers.
- Press seams well and trim all loose threads.
- Please wait to add any embellishments until after the quilt has been returned to you. I cannot quilt over them, they may interfere with machine movement, and there may be a charge if I need to remove them to quilt.
- If your quilt top has any overlaps, pockets, or other loose fabric such as Prairie Points or pockets they be must be temporarily tacked down for quilting. Any part of the quilt you do not want quilted must be clearly marked.
- Mark the top of the quilt so we will know which way the quilting pattern should run. If the backing has a top and bottom, please mark that also. (Safety pin a note to indicate the top).
Preparing Your Backing
- I do not accept bed sheets or jeans for backing – it may cause skipped stitches!
- Your backing must be at least 4” beyond the quilt top on all sides. This means your backing will be at least 8 inches longer and wider than your quilt top. If the backing is not big enough I cannot attach the quilt to the machine but we can add material to make it work (extra charge). However, it is likely your backing will have different colored fabrics if I had to attach more backing fabric.
- Pieced backings should be at least ½” and pressed with seams open and take care that the pieced backs are square and flat. Pieced seams should be parallel to the top/bottom of your quilt.
- Centering of quilt on backing is an additional charge of $25.
Preparing Your Batting
- I supply high quality batting at very competitive prices.
- Batting you supply should be at least the same size as your backing or a little bigger. If you provide a much larger batting than what is needed for a quilt, it will be cut down to a more manageable size as I quilt.
- Any batting you supply must meet our quality and size requirements for longarm quilting.
Threads
- I use only thread I supply that is designed for machine quilting. I have many colors on hand.
- You may also specify colors; however, if I do not have them in stock it will increase the turnaround time, not the price, for your quilt.
Final Things
- Quilts can be returned trimmed or not at no additional charge. Please specify which you prefer. If you prefer a trimmed quilt, all excess batting and backing will be returned to you even if it is only an inch wide.
- All quilts are sewn down ¼” or less from the edge all the way around. I can tack it down if you prefer, but you must let me know.
- If you want a pantograph I currently do not own, I will purchase it, with no additional cost to you, but it may increase the turnaround time of your quilt.
We sincerely appreciate your cooperation and attention to these details. By adhering to this checklist, you're providing us with the best possible canvas to create a quilting masterpiece that meets your expectations and beyond. Should you have any questions or need further clarification, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team. Thank you for entrusting us with your quilt!