Yay!!! You are ready to have your quilt professionally quilted! It's a really exciting step of the quilting journey for all of us. After all of the hard work you have put into piecing your quilt top, you want to ensure you have done everything possible to ensure the best outcome when sending it off for quilting. The outcome of the quilting has just as much to do with preparation as it does with the person quilting it. A little extra effort will pay dividends in the end result.

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​Here is a list of things you need to do:

 

​Quilt Top

• Always mark the top edge of your quilt with a pinned piece of paper. If you forget to do this and your quilt is directional, I wont know which way you want it quilted.

• Press seams neatly. Pressing your quilt at each stage of construction is critical for good results. This helps plan the direction of your seams and achieve a flatter quilt. Not pressing during construction is evident when it comes to quilting, and more difficult for the quilter to achieve a quality result. If you can, press your seams towards darker fabrics. Sometimes it's hard to avoid a “flipped seam” that changes direction. This usually doesn't cause issues so don't stress if you have a few. Traditionally seams are pressed to one side, but if seams are pressed open and you have fanning intersecting points, you can't stitch in the ditch for custom quilting.  These methods can reduce bulky seams but consider your method of pressing if you want custom quilting. There is no ditch to stitch if the seam is pressed open.  Lastly, give your quilt top one last press from the front side, checking to make sure all the seams are pressed and flat.

• Trim excess threads. If loose threads are on the right side of the quilt top, they'll get sewn on and I will not pull them up and trim them out of the stitching. This is something that needs to be done in your preparation.  If they're on the back, especially on a light-colored quilt, they will likely shadow through the quilt top and it's not easy to try and remove them. This is a really important step in your preparation that is your responsibility.  

• Flat tops and borders are the aim of the game. Tops which have bulk (wavy or bubbles of excess fabric) in the body of the quilt are challenging to quilt well. It pays to unpick a few seams and fix the problem before sending it to quilt. Additionally borders which are too full and wavy are also difficult to quilt. Measure your quilt and cut your borders to the correct length.  Centre your border on the quilt top and then pin at each end.  Pin and work your border to fit your quilt top.  Never sew a continuous strip of fabric to your quilt and trim when you get to the end. This will result in excess fabric and will pucker when quilted. Square the corners of the borders. This helps get a beautifully square result for you. No quilt is ever perfect, so if you know your quilt top is a little wonky, don't stress it's not the end of the world. We can talk about this and come to an agreement on what we can do so you know what to expect in the quilting. 

• This is probably my No.1 must do! If your quilt has pieced edges, sew a seam around the whole quilt. Sew a line of stitching about ⅛" from the edge, around the entire perimeter of the quilt.   This prevents seams coming apart during handling. Its known as the victory lap around the quilt and can make the biggest difference to your finished quilt.

• Do NOT cut border curves or scallops.

•  Attach embellishments AFTER the quilting.

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Backing

• Your backing needs to be bigger than the quilt top.  It must be a minimum of 4 inches on each side (8 inches longer and wider than the top). This is to allow the back to be attached to the leaders at the top and bottom and clamped at the sides.  If the backing is short, it will need temporary borders and this will incur an additional charge. If you are custom quilting, you will need additional width for rulers and other tools.  We can talk more about this in your custom consultation. 

• Always indicate the top of your quilt backing with a pinned piece of paper.

• Backing fabrics need to be square to load correctly. Backings which are not cut/sewn straight cannot be loaded to a longarm without problems.  This is especially important for wideback fabrics which can often be cut poorly from the store.  Allow extra fabric to accommodate alignment if necessary. 

• Pieced quilt backs are accepted but can accumulate bulk.  If you are joining your backing, you must remove selvedges from internal seams to avoid distortion.  The join must have a ½” seam allowance and pressed open to avoid bulk.  Leave the selvages on the outer edges for loading to the leaders.  If you have a join, don't fold the backing on the join.  Fold it off center and allow it to sit flat.

• It is almost impossible to control the exact position of a quilt back.  If you want to feature a design or panel on your quilt back, I strongly recommend offsetting this in your construction so it intentionally sits offset. This is something we can discuss if you are concerned about how to execute placement.

• Do not send excessively large quilt backings with your quilt top. If your quilt is a throw size and you send a 3m of widebacking, trimming will incur an additional charge.  Excess backing causes sagging and difficulty when quilting.  

• If you are going to bring the backing to the front to create a binding, please indicate this in the notes section of the intake form and do not select the option to square off your quilt.

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​Batting

• I only use and supply Matilda's own Batting for my quilting service and will not accept any external or poor quality batting.  Please see the Batting and Thread information in All the Info for all your batting options and pricing.

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If you have read all of this information thoroughly, thank you!  You're well on your way to having an amazing experience getting your quilt professionally quilted. 

One last note:

Communicate! Speak up with what you want!

I just can't emphasize this enough. I can't understand your style without communication.  I want nothing more than to help you, so ask a gazillion questions if you need to. More questions are better than no questions and you end up unhappy with your quilt. If you know exactly what you want, then say so. If you want my help to make design decisions, I will guide you but if you don't, that's totally ok. This is your quilt, your way! The best way to get the best result is open and honest communication.