A "duh" question/birthing

In message , Tina writes

Let's see if I can help.

Have you ever hand-stitched a binding and halfway through found yourself thinking "There just *has* to be a quicker way to do this. Preferably on the machine"?

Well *that's* why.

I think of it as a utility method. It goes well with tying instead of quilting. It goes with speed piecing. It goes with raggy 9 patches. It goes with baby quilts you want to get done quickly. It doesn't really go with hand-quilted king-sized whole cloth quilts for your only daughter's wedding (in my opinion, but, hey, there are no quilt police).

Does that help?

Sorta! LOL I don't understand how you would keep your layers together though when you got ready to quilt it? Wouldn't you end up with puffy spaces if you had sewn the whole edge around first and then commenced to quilting it after turning it right side out again?

Tina

Birthing looks nice, is sturdy and goes fast. Truth be told, tossing together shoddy fabric and calling it "good enough" for a charity (love) quilt does offend my delicate sensibilities. On the other hand, I agree that a hand binding would be the way to go for a very special quilt that calls for your very best. Polly

This is why birthing works so well with tying. Poufyness is part of the design. But you could also do simple grid quilting. If you iron the birthed (but not yet quilted/tied) quilt, that will help keep it flat while you quilt. You could also add safety pin basting. If you stitch 1/4"-1/2" around the perimeter of the quilt, then you get a false binding look.

Very interesting, thanks Wendy.

It just seemed like a lot of people must do this - so I thought it must be better in some way and so was concerned/puzzled that I had never heard of it, didn't even exactly know what it meant till I got on this list and didn't know how/why to do it! LOL

I guess just one of the draw-backs of never having had a "teacher" or taking classes. You guys have all been wonderful "teachers" for many new techniques for me and once the move is over and we are settled in again - maybe after Christmas - I will have money to take some classes.

In the meantime, I plan on soaking up all the educational opportunities I can get my hands and ears on at the Quilt Festival!

Thanks again, Tina

I did an internet search - and guess what I found?!

Tina

I did this for my sons jeans quilt. It was the first time I'd used this method. I heard it mentioned here a few times. I thought it might hold up better, and would be alot easier than trying to bind it. I just tied it also because it was alot easier on me and my machine than trying to wrestle it through the SM to quilt it. I had no problems with lumps doing it this way. Personally I would only birth a quilt in a situation like this where the quilt is for utility purposes only, and/or the quilt would be difficult to put a binding on and quilt, but that is JMHO.

Howdy! For some of us, it's easier than hatching.

Ragmop/Sandy--wondering if this was a baby or a quilt post... ;-P

Oh thanks a LOT Sandy! LOL Now what the heck is "hatching" ?!?!?!?!

Tina

oh duh, now I read the tag line...........

it MUST be lunch time or something

Tina

You birth quilts when you have tons (almost literally) of quilt tops that need to be made into quilts quickly. Right now our Linus chapter has close to 200 tops that need to be quilts for kids to snuggle with. We will be birthing all of them. Much, much quicker! We tie a lot of them, but quite a few are machine quilted using the wavy stitch that a lot of the newer machines have. Works great for us!

Donna in Idaho

never having dont this before.... i wonder if hatching is anything like sitting on the washing machine? well til those beaks start a'poking thru i suppose. then there could be some pain involved. ok ok so i'm on another planet at the moment. jeanne

Howdy! Hatching is what happens if you don't eat all the Easter eggs in one day. Hey, Polly, do they color and hunt crocodile eggs in the swamp?

Ragmop/Sandy--quilting, of course, most of the time ;-D