Cheating the binding

Sorry, Kate. Just my (very) lame attempt at a joke for our new 'redpenner'! . In message , Kate G. writes

I got it, Patti. At least you didn't sideswipe us with another pun. Polly

"Patti" wrote > Sorry, Kate. Just my (very) lame attempt at a joke for our new

As long as the batting extends to the edge of the quilt I can't see you being penalized in a show. In any show guidlines I have read it usually states something to the effect of ......... nevermind......... this is exactly what the CQA standards are in regards to binding

Binding

- Should be securely stitched

- Should be uniformly filled with filler

- Should be appropriate to the design of the quilt top

- If bias binding used, it should be true bias

- Curved corners should flow smoothly without puckers

- Square corners should be perfect 90 degrees

- Other corners should be consistent in appearance

- When turned to the back of the quilt, binding stitches should be inconspicuous

I don't think there should be 'extra' batting in the binding, there should be as much batting in the binding as there is in the quilt itself. It isn't trapunto!

redpenner wrote:

Yep - bindings "should" be the same thickness all the way through, no flat edges with no batting inside. Also wears better that way as you don't get any folded points that wear to small holes. I wouldn't "pad" my bindings to be thicker than my quilt unless it was a design feature like some of the fancy ruched/piped edges.

But as the others said - there are no real quilt police. Do what you are happy with, or maybe ask for a judge's comments on bindings.

Heck - I overlock some of my raw quilt edges and wrap the binding tight over that, just to get a nice firm flat hardwearing egde.

Howdy!

So now you know what most of the judges at quilt shows are looking for w/ the binding; they don't want to feel an empty pocket there when they are expecting batting to fill that binding. Altho' the common cliché is "there are no quilt police" -- well, there are, too. You mention winning a ribbon some day, so you'll have to enter competition and follow some rules set up by a committee of other quilters. Quilt show judges are looking for certain techniques to be finished certain ways. Binding that is sufficiently filled but not stuffed, mitered corners that lie flat and make a 90* turn, quilting that fills the surface evenly without leaving big areas unquilted, and other proof that the quilter(s) did the best job to Finish this quilt, put the extra effort into it.

As for what the other quilters say, well, even the self-professed experts and/or professionals don't always get it right. I was at the Ft.Worth quilt show yesterday, looking and listening. One of the quilters said she didn't agree w/ the judges' evaluation on her quilt because her machine quilter, a Professional!!, told her "this is the way this is supposed to be!", while the rest of us were noting that her quilt was only partially quilted. There were large areas of the quilt that had not been touched by thread. (I saw way too many quilts in that condition; lots of heavy quilting in some blocks while other blocks were sparsely quilted if at all.) The ribbon winners had obviously, very obviously taken time to do a Good Job, really put some extra work into the quilts, taking pride in the product. Why else enter competition? And, btw, the Best in Show Winner was handquilted.

I have a lot to learn about quilting. And what judges look for, over all.

Good luck, R/p!

Ragmop/Sandy-- I like the way the Ft.Worth show brings out the handquilters ;-D

On 9/18/06 2:22 PM, in article snipped-for-privacy@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com, "redpenner" wrote:

Me too

(cutting binding at 2 1/4 " - not having my corners sewn)

Hanne in London

There are no Quilt Police -- there ARE Ribbon Police. ;-P

(I confess I've always wanted to tell someone "Put your hands on your head, back away from the quilt slowly, and no one gets hurt." *snort*)

Get yourself a squirt gun and go for it Kathy.

You gotta be more professional than snorting while doing it though or nobody will take you seriously Taria

Kathy Applebaum wrote:

That explains SO much! LOL

Not a bigger seam. Using your rotary cutter and ruler, trim the excess backing and batting 1/4" from the edge of the quilt (= 1/2" from the seam line). This should fill up a double fold binding that started with a 2.5" strip. Roberta in D

"redpenner" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...

Thanks again everybody for the advice. I ended up "padding" the binding in my current project because the 3/8 inch margin I had left it just way too thin. Now it looks a little plump, but I think better than if I'd left it. On the next one I'll probably leave a longer margin. I've been experimenting with fusible batting on my smaller quilts, and have found it fills up a binding really nicely -- if I just pull it a bit closer, I'll eliminate the empty bit at the very edge.

I've only been quilting for 9 months and my quilts aren't really prize-winning material yet, but hopefully will get better. I don't have many quilting skills yet, so I've had them quilted "professionally" and have been somewhat disappointed at the quality I can get locally. I'm really hesitant to show them at the show, but I guess I'll go for it.

Thanks again for your support and advice!

Hello again Redpenner: If you are disappointed in the quilting services, perhaps it is time for YOU to quilt your own quilts. With machine quilting, starting with easy straight line grids, then working up to stipple or meander quilting will give you experience and confidence. In hand quilting, following simple shapes is a good way to start.

Meantime, WELCOME to the news group!! The only RCTQ rule you really need to know: Send a pound or two of chocolate to the Official Chocolate Tasting Office, conveniently located here in my Palace in Virginia, USA. I will taste test if for you and report via E-Mail. No need to thank me! It is my selfless volunteer service to the RCTQ Community.

TTFN, PAT > Thanks ...cut...

If it looks a little 'plump' for your liking, press it! You'll still have the binding filled, but it won't look overly stuffed. . In message , redpenner writes

We used to have a quilter that donated quilts to our Project Linus chapter that she bound with purchased satin binding. She sewed it to the edges of the quilt so that the wide, wide binding had nothing in it at all. I'm sure those bindings wore out pretty quickly besides being really flimsy.

Well, now nice to see you here, Donna. I happened upon some red fleece and satin binding and was planning to make some Hoho blankets for little ones. I'll do my best to make sure there are no empty weak spots. Polly

"Donna in Idaho" > We used to have a quilter that donated quilts to our Project Linus chapter

Polly, we've gotten some really nice fleece blankets bound with satin binding. One of my favorites was one bound with "rainbow" binding - it was really pretty! One of the ways we've started dressing up plain color fleece blankets is to applique something on them. Sometimes we just applique geometric shapes from patterned or contrasting fleece scraps. Someone just gave us some panels with VW cars with flowers, love, etc., on them. They're really cute & are going to really dress up a plain fleece blanket.

What I have heard/seen/ been told by judges and those that have helped clerk during judges...... Most judges want the binding to be "full", in other words it should be the same thickness as the rest of the quilt. A little more is okay, but not less. You don't want the binding to be just the fabric of the binding, it should be snug around the whole quilt sandwich.

HTH, Pati, > What I meant was, the ladies were telling me that the judges at the