Match the center pin on your quilt's bottom border to the pin marking the center of your leader, and pin the quilt and leader together at that spot. Measure out 49 inches to the right of center and place a pin there, then measure out 49 inches to the left of center and place another pin. On the machine’s 'top' leader, place a pin in the center of the leader. Place pins to mark the centers of the quilt’s top and bottom borders. In this example, let's say the quilt is 98 inches wide. Not the size the pattern says it’s supposed to be, but the size it really is. Measure the quilt through the center to determine its size. But getting a square quilt requires much more than just pinning on one edge of the top you have to take a few moments and do a bit of measuring before you grab that pincushion! Let me show you how to do it I frequently find that having the bottom of the quilt top pinned in place acts as almost an 'extra hand' when it comes to dealing with fullness issues. With a partial float, you pin only the bottom edge of the quilt top to its leader and baste the top edge to the backing and batting. Over the years, I’ve learned that the method that works best for me is to do a ‘partial float’ as this technique allows me to have an extra degree of control during the quilting process. These loading techniques are a snap to learn and, best of all, add no more than a few minutes to your loading time. Proper loading will make it far more likely that the corners will be square, edges flat, and blocks and sashing strips correctly lined up. Wall quilts will hang better, bed quilts will lie flatter and drape nicely at the corners. Kimmy says- Absolutely! The way a quilt is loaded has a direct, and quite dramatic, effect on the appearance of the finished quilt. Can you please tell me if there is a trick to pinning the quilt on straighter? Not too long ago, you wrote about straightening the leaders to get straighter quilts, but the article didn’t offer any tips for loading the quilt itself. Straighten Up! Part two first published in the March 2011 issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine Copyrights held by Kim Brunner and Meander Publishing. This snippet was published in Machine Quilting Unlimted's 'Ask Kimmy' column.
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