Today’s Topic: Loading the Quilt and the Double Batting
Good Morning, Quilters!
After a fabulous retreat and a not-so-fabulous second go with Covid, I’m back quilting the Carolina Lily quilt. If you recall, I finished piecing and appliqueing this classic red and white quilt nearly ten years ago. I love this quilt and have been afraid to quilt it. (Yes, we ALL suffer from this malady!)
Shortly after completing the quilt top, I made a few half-hearted attempts to design the quilting. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the proper tools or skills and it was an exercise in frustration. I used stencils and untested markers to draw on the quilt. When I tried to remove the marks-I quickly realized I was in trouble. That was enough for me to fold it up for nearly a decade. I’ve learned so much in the intervening years–about testing tools, designing on a photo, and creating samples-that I decided it was time to try again.
Up until recently, all of my quilts were stitched on a domestic sewing machine. Two years ago, I purchased the amazing BERNINA Q24 longarm quilting machine on a classic-sized frame. In this series, I will walk through my entire process of quilting The Carolina Lily on the longarm.
Quilting the Carolina Lily Re-Cap
To follow along, check out the first two Carolina Lily blog posts:
- Step One–Get over yourself! It’s only a quilt!
- Step Two-Press the quilt top and take a few photos
- Step Three-Start Planning the Design
- Designing and Samples
- Step Four-Choose and Mark the Major Design Lines
- Step Five-Sample batting, thread and motifs
- Step Six-Create and press backing (not shown here)
Loading the Quilt Backing
NOTE- I was so focused on getting started, I don’t have detailed photos for this blog post- sorry!
The first step is to load the quilt on the frame. Loading the quilt took less than an hour-which is one of THE major advantages of frame quilting! (Hand basting a large quilt usually takes a few hours-though spray basting is considerably quicker.)
Before loading the backing, I was careful to remove all stray threads and to press the seams open.
Loading the backing is simply a matter of pinning both top and bottom edges to their corresponding leaders while making sure the edges remain straight. (Twenty minutes)
Loading the Double Layer of Batting
I’ve noticed that many award winning quilters use two layers of batting to add more emphasis to the quilting line, so after making a sample, I decided to try the double batt.
I chose wool batting for it’s amazing loft and 80/20 cotton/poly for stability. Most quilters recommend layering the more stable batting (the cotton, poly blend) first. This layer will be required to absorb more of the stress when rolling on the frame. The wool batting is then layered on top.
However, I could only find natural color wool batting. When I created the samples, the color dulled the large areas of white in my quilt top.
While I don’t generally consider myself a risk taker (LOL) ….I decided to take my chances and layer the wool first and the white cotton/poly on top.
To load the quilt batting, I simply placed the first batting down, smoothed it carefully with a long ruler and then basted with long stitches across the top of the frame.
I repeated the process for the second layer of batting, allowing both layers of batting to float over the backing bar.
Loading the Quilt Top
Before I stared marking the quilt, I had carefully pressed it. I never the quilt again-to avoid either setting the marking lines or erasing them-depending on the type of marker used. Before installing the quilt top, I give it one last clean up to remove stray threads.
Loading the quilt top is slightly more time consuming. After pinning the quilt top to the leader, I took my time to make sure the seam lines remained very straight as I rolled it onto the bar.
This step took about 20 minutes…and finally, I was ready for the thrilling phase of quilting!
Testing Thread
While I’m always extremely eager to jump in and start quilting, I have to “slow the roll” as they say, and test threads and the tension–(boring but necessary).
In the margin of the quilt, I added a small piece of fabric to test quilt tension and thread color.
After sampling, I decided to use white, 40 wt polyester, Glide thread on top. I like the slight sheen compared to cotton thread and I know it is very strong thread-not prone to breaking. While 40 wt is considered on the slightly heavy side-I decided it would work well for most of the outlining and quilting.
Bobbin Thread
Choosing the bobbin thread required a bit of a compromise.
Generally, I like to match the color of the bobbin thread with the color of the top thread so as to make any slight tension issues from being visible on the top of the quilt. However, I really didn’t want to see white thread on the red backing of my quilt.
I tested three colors in the bobbin: red, pink and white.
After comparing the colors, I decided the only way to go was with the white. Even when the tension was perfect, the other colors seemed to make the white top thread less vibrant.
In the end, matching the bobbin and top thread color remained my go-to rule.
Because I wanted a lightweight, strong thread, I chose Sulky 60wt PolyLite thread in white for the bobbin. ( I could have used the 40 wt Glide–but the 60wt gives me more mileage in the bobbin.)
Tension Adjustments and Foot Height
Getting the tension right was a challenge. As I’ve mentioned, this is my first time using a double batting–and I had to lower the tension much more than I expected. In addition, I needed to use the adjustable foot height to allow the foot to glide across the quilt properly. BERNINA offers several feet with adjustable foot height. This is the first time I have needed to adjust the foot height and I was glad I already had all three of these feet.
(Later in the process, my top thread kept breaking and I found the foot height was the problem–needed a bit more tweaking!)
Finally, Ready to Quilt!
Testing threads and correcting the tension took more than an hour. This is time that a younger, less experienced version of me would have skipped right over. However, I’ve learned the hard way–testing now will save loads of time and frustration in the end.
NOW, I’m ready to quilt!
Next Steps-
- Begin stitching major lines
- Stitch in the Ditch quilting
- Continue to plan the design
Please Share!
Do YOU quilt on a frame or a sit-down machine?
Are you in the middle of any quilting projects?
Do YOU have any double-batting or tension tricks to share?
We’d LOVE to hear!
Happy Stitching,
Lily Lori Longing to Quilt!
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy Quilts and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to LKQ. For all other purposes, please contact me at Lori@LoriKennedyQuilts.com!
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