Before a quilt top ever reaches the quilting stage, it really pays to give it a good, calm once over. In this video from APQS, Julia Graves walks through a clear checklist for evaluating a quilt top before quilting, so you can catch the little issues that lead to puckers, wavy borders and distortion before they ever reach the needle.
Here is why this one is worth watching:
- Checking for square and flat borders. Julia shows how to tell whether your top is sitting nicely square, and whether those borders are lying flat or starting to ripple, the wavy edges that so often cause trouble further down the line.
- Spotting bias stretch and popped seams. She points out the bias edges that love to stretch, such as setting triangles, and how to find any seams that have quietly come open, so you can mend them before the top is loaded.
- Pressing and a few finishing checks. From pressing problems to helpful habits like stay stitching the outer edges, she covers the gentle tidying up that helps a top load smoothly and quilt beautifully.
Do you give your quilt tops a proper check before quilting, or has a wavy border ever caught you by surprise? I would love to hear how you prepare yours in the comments.
