Q: How do you start sewing through the three layers and know they will all fit together in the end? How do I make sure they are all the right size, as I have no really big surface to lay it all out. The lounge floor is the only place and not ideal as I cannot walk around it. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Trisha
A: If you always begin with your batting being 2-3 inches larger on all sides than your quilt top and your backing 1-2 inches larger than the batting on all sides of your quilt, your layers are more likely to be the right size. It's just one of those mysteries of quilting. For some reason, the backing and batting kind of shrink during the quilting process.
It sounds like you are a dedicated quilter - perservering even though you don't have a place to lay out your completed quilt to baste it.
Here are a couple of options:
Some quilt shops let you use their tables for basting
A local library might have a room with a table you could use
I use my bed to baste some quilts. I lay a large piece of cardboard on the bed and then layer the quilt on top.
If you can lay it out at all, lay it out, and smooth it out, then roll it up on one side - or from the center to the top or bottom. Then baste the portion that is open. For example, if you rolled up the part from the center to the top, then baste from the center to the bottom. Once you have completed that, roll it up and unroll the other half that wasn't basted. Do the same thing with the sides.
Once your quilt is quilted, trim off the excess batting and backing.
Here is a video showing how to layer your quilt for basting:
Penny is a quilter of more than 27 years who seeks to interest new
quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create
beautiful quilts.
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