Thanks Jimmie! It looks great, and your quilting designs are perfect for it!

Jimmie, that is a very pretty quilt.

beautiful quilt! When I block my quilt on either my hardwood floor on a plastic bag or on my worktable if it's small enough I tape it down with blue painters tape. It won't usually stick to the quilt when it's damp so you run the tape long enough to attach to the floor around the edges, holding it down tightly. I make a kind of simple grid of blue painters tape. It works great. And yes, I block my quilt before I put on the binding.

I am going to try to send another picture. Jimmie

Margo, I am going to try to send you a picture of my quilt. Jimmie

Michelle and Pam you have given GREAT tips! Thanks!

Jimmie, thanks for the kind words. I can't wait to see pictures of this new quilt!

Margo, I usually make Baby Quilts, but I am making a Double Wedding Ring quilt with fabric that was made into pillow cases by my Grandmother. I am using Eleanor Burns pattern and it is fairly easy. I did not use any starch in the blocks, because I knew that I would have to wash the quilt. I have washed quilts before but I am a little scared to wash this one because the fabric is old and the quilt is fairly large. (Although I did wash the fabric when they were pillow cases.) I am going to try the Sta-flo
starch. Your hand applique quilt with the cross-hatching is beautiful. I am going to get some of the crayola washable markers and test them several times before I use
then on a quilt. Right now I am using a disappearing pen to mark my quilts. So far the marks have been coming out pretty good unless I forget and touch it with an iron.
I try to square up all my quilts. On my Baby Quilts I wash them and lay them out on a large table and pat them more or less square.

Margo, thank you for helping me and anyone else who needs help. Jimmie

Pam that's a great idea! I have done that too but forgot about it! It sure is easier to do and see if it helps. Drapery weights can be placed into a small sew on pocket on the offending side. Or a full rod pocket can be sewn on, and the dowel put in.

If it doesn't help, not much time or effort lost!

Would it help to put a hanging sleeve on the bottome and put a piece of dowelling in which would hold the bottom flat or even put a pocket and a small weight which might hold it done? Just a thought. I hope that you find a solution.

Joyce, it could be that the quilting is a bit less or more dense on that quadrant. Or it could be slightly out of square. I had a quilt do that, and took the binding off, re blocked it and used diagonal and square measurements and pinned it to the carpet when it was just right. What I saw was that one area was fuller than the other, so I ran a running stitch in the seam allowance and cinched it up like you would do when making gathering... but only just enough to get it perfectly flat on the floor. Let it dry with the running stitch in there. Put on the new binding by pinning it in place, using a walking foot and going slowly. Once the binding is in place, you can remove the running stitch as you do the hand stitching of the binding.

With a bit of luck and if you hold your tongue just the right way, and say the magic words, the quilt will hang better and not curl.

Or you can just let it be, and enjoy it the way it is! Much less work!! LOL

I have a wallhanging in my hallway (& a 19 y/o son that must walk on the walls...) that curls on one corner. I have washed it and pinned it to the carpet to dry. A week later -- curls. I'm considering the starch while drying idea. Since making this, I've also read that I should have blocked it before putting on the binding. : Do any of you do that?

Suggestions for me? I can't do much about the son that walks too close the walls.... so bumps the curled out part and knocks it down. He is a skinny thing, not sure the issue w/ that!

Thank you Margo! This blog site is so cool, my newest, best go to for answers to questions!!

kathiec1950 wrote:
Kathiec1950, I use a LOT of starch and I like to use Sta-Flo. I usually mix it half and half with water in a spray bottle, but you can mix it any strength you like. Apparently there is a preservative in it, because I don't worry about it "going bad" after it's mixed.



I buy it at Wal-Mart and always find it on the very top shelf, or the bottom shelf, but never right at eye level! Apparently it's not a big seller these days! LOL!!
For what it's worth, unless they are headed for a show, my quilts get thrown into the washer, into the dryer and right back on the bed or stored for the next body needing some comfort!

For an even more economical alternative you might want to try making your own like Diane Gaudynski:

Try my recipe for spray starch for all your pressing/piecing needs. Remember, you can adjust any of these amounts to suit your own needs, and also don't keep this for more than two weeks max. I make up a batch when I need it, then dump it out when I'm finished. It produces a super flat stable quilt: Dissolve half a teaspoon (or one teaspoon for a stiffer starch) of regular Argo cornstarch (in your cupboard probably) in a few tablespoons of cold water in a heat proof 2-cup measuring pitcher like Pyrex. Add boiling water to make one cup, stirring constantly. Then add cold water to the 2 cup line. Let cool and use in a pump spray bottle. Shake it every time you spray. You may have to dilute it a little if it is too thick or builds up white flakes. Lasts a week or so as there are no preservatives, no chemicals, no nothing that harms us or the environment, and it’s practically free, except for the spray bottle! Don't starch fabrics for storage as it will attract critters such as centipedes, and mice.

This is fabulous! So, blocking a quilt is primarily for a quilt to hang on a wall so that it can hang straight, not necessary for a quilt that goes on a bed? I like the idea of using insulation board best. A follow up question is about the kind of spray starch that Margo uses? I have used a cheap spray starch from the grocery store and an expensive one from the quilt shop but not with very good results.
Thank you, very much.