Quilting question
 

Hi. I've asked before about suggestions to eliminate puckering when I quilt. I'm wondering if I'm taping the back too taut and causing the layers to feed at different rates. Would taping the back too taut cause puckering? I'll add s photo of my current project. I can't see where to add a photo. ..

Yes, you don't want any of the layers to be too tight when you are preparing the quilt sandwich. When you untape/un pin/un clip it from the table the stretched layers will relax and pull the others in, creating puckers.
It's the same thing with a frame, either long arm or hand quilting. You want it tight enough to be smooth, but not really taut.

Yes, taping the back too taut can easily cause puckering. This is because you are stretching the backing fabric. When it is released from the tape, the fabric will spring back to its normal tension. It is better to simply smooth out the backing fabric before taping.

There are other things you can do to eliminate puckering. Using either glue basting or spray basting methods help because these keep the layers more continuously in contact with each other (compared to thread basting or pin basting).

My favorite method for reducing/eliminating puckers is to *heavily* starch the backing fabric before layering. For this I use a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water which I "paint" onto the yardage using a large wall painting brush. I give the fabric a few minutes to allow the fibers to soak up as much of the starch solution as possible, then toss it in the dryer and iron with steam. This is ideally done before you sew seams in the yardage to create the backing, but you can also do it after the backing is sewn *as long as* you are sure the fabric won't shrink a lot (in other words, you have pre-washed the backing fabric or have tested it to make sure it won't shrink when exposed to water). If it shrinks a lot after you have sewn the seams, the seams will ripple. This is why I prefer to heavily starch the backing yardage before cutting and seaming it into a backing.

It also helps to apply several layers of spray starch to the top before layering. To do this, lay the top on a large flat white sheet and spray. You can use a fan to speed the drying of the starch between layers. This method can also be used on an already-layered quilt sandwich, on both top and backing, to help prevent puckers.

What starch does is stabilize the fabrics so they are much less likely to stretch and distort as you machine quilt. It helps a *lot*!

If the back is too taut, you should be able to see the excess fabric on the backing. You do not want it as tight as a drum but when I run my hand lightly over the backing before laying down the batting, I want to make sure the fabric doesn't shift. That has always worked for me and I have pin basted probably over 500 quilts.

It's curious, though. It seems like of the back being too taut were the problem there would be puckering even before I started quilting. Right?
As far as starching, I'll try that!
I tried glue basting before, it didn't make the layers stick at all. Same with spray basting, tried it with no success. :(

kellyer, What batting were you using? Glue basting and spray basting both work best on cotton batting. Most spray basting brands do not work particularly well on polyester batting; however, 505 usually does work well on poly as well as cotton. So, a lot depends on both the batting and the brand of spray you were using.

Edit: Regarding puckering, the machine you are using can also play a role. Some machines have a combination of presser foot and feed dog that stretches the fabrics more as you sew. What machine are you using? Some machines have a means of adjusting presser foot pressure. Also, if you are not free-motion quilting, a good walking foot can help eliminate puckering issues. (Starch helps with all methods of machine quilting, so you want to starch even if using a walking foot.) There are variations in the quality of walking feet, too, with generic usually being less effective than a walking foot made especially for your brand and model of machine.

Lots of variables!

Great info for "Newbies" - Thankyou!

My favorite method for reducing/eliminating puckers is to *heavily* starch the backing fabric before layering. For this I use a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water which I "paint" onto the yardage using a large wall painting brush. I give the fabric a few minutes to allow the fibers to soak up as much of the starch solution as possible, then toss it in the dryer and iron with steam. This is ideally done before you sew seams in the yardage to create the backing, but you can also do it after the backing is sewn *as long as* you are sure the fabric won't shrink a lot (in other words, you have pre-washed the backing fabric or have tested it to make sure it won't shrink when exposed to water). If it shrinks a lot after you have sewn the seams, the seams will ripple. This is why I prefer to heavily starch the backing yardage before cutting and seaming it into a backing.

It also helps to apply several layers of spray starch to the top before layering. To do this, lay the top on a large flat white sheet and spray. You can use a fan to speed the drying of the starch between layers. This method can also be used on an already-layered quilt sandwich, on both top and backing, to help prevent puckers.

What starch does is stabilize the fabrics so they are much less likely to stretch and distort as you machine quilt. It helps a *lot*![/QUOTE]

I spray starch the front and back, plus I iron the batting. Then, I spray baste the three layers together. My last quilt was a kingsize and I straight line quilted on my machine, not one pucker.

My machine is a singer Scholastic. It's been a great machine for 15 years. I'm in the market for a new one.
Tonight while I was quilting, and getting some puckering, I got so fed up with the walking foot that I took it off and used a regular foot. It was worlds better without the walking foot! It's a generic walking foot, and I've wondered if that might be part of the puckering problem.
My machine does have a presser foot dial, I loosened it some bit don't want to mess with it too much. I'm not sure it made much difference.
I'm definitely taking note of all the suggestions. Thank you.

Wow, I can't imagine ever making a king sized quilt, but I hope to some day!