Preparation Tips

The following tips will not only help you prepare your quilt top nicely so I can do a better job quilting it, but they also may save you some money in the process.  Less work for me means less money you have to pay.

Please make sure your quilt top is pieced carefully. If you have areas where there are puckers or it doesn't lie flat, it may create puckers when quilting. Quilting does not fix misaligned patchwork or unevenness that can cause your quilt to have puckers. While quilting will hide many imperfections, I cannot guarantee any fullness in your quilt will be quilted out. I will try to help make your finished quilt the best it can be, but please remember that your quilt will only be as free of fullness and puckers as your piecing allows.

Please stay stitch 1/8 inch around the outside of your top to prevent stretching and to keep the seams from coming apart if you have bias seams or a lot of seams around the outside of your quilt top.

Please check all your seams on the top to make sure they are not coming apart. I do not check the seams in quilt tops before loading them on the frame. Once I've started quilting, it is nearly impossible to fix any seams that may be pulling apart.

Please press your quilt top. Pressing your seams flat and to the side are stronger then seams pressed open because they have strength coming from both the fabric and the thread as opposed open seams which are held together by the thread only. If I receive a quilt top that needs pressing, I will charge an additional $10.00. I do not re-press seams that have been pressed open, I will only press a top or back that has wrinkles or creases.

Please trim all loose threads from the front and back of your quilt top. This will prevent any loose threads from tangling on the top and any dark threads from showing through light areas.

If there is a certain direction your quilt should lie or hang, please label the top of the quilt with a safety-pinned note.

Please attach any buttons or other embellishments after quilting to prevent tangling and catching in the machine and ripping or other damage to your quilt.

Please square up your quilt top and back. Squaring means that the edges should be straight and even, and that the corners should be 90 degree angles. My fee for squaring is $10.00 per item.

The back and batting should be at least 6 inches longer and wider than the quilt top. This allows me to quilt to the borders and also ensures that I will have enough backing in the event the quilt top stretches a bit when on the quilt frame. The top tends to stretch a bit, and the backing tends to shrink in with the quilting. A 6" longer and wider back allows me 3" of wiggle room around the entire edge of the quilt top.

Sheets are not recommended for the backing. Sheets are tightly woven and will not stretch the same on the the frame. They will not quilt as nicely. They also have a much higher thread count and will not wash or wear the same as the quilt top.

Please do not baste your quilt. The parts of the quilt need to be loaded on my machine separately, so any basting you do in advance will need to be undone before I can begin.


If you are shipping your quilt: Place your top and back in a plastic bag before placing in the shipping box to prevent any outside materials from leaking in and damaging your quilt. Make sure you choose a box big enough to ship back the completed quilt. Please enclose a return address label. Once I  receive your quilt, I will call you to confirm all the details of your quilt.

Hopefully these guidelines will answer any questions you may have regarding how to prepare your quilt. For pricing information, click here.

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About . . .

Quilting is good therapy. It all started about 18 years ago when I had two little kiddos running around the house in diapers and spent my days as a stay-at-home mom. I soon discovered that I needed something more interesting than sorting laundry to keep me going. That's when I discovered the joy of quilting. Now, years down the road, I've added another kiddo to the mix. We've said goodbye to diapers and hello to driver's licenses and college (yikes!), and I have many quilts behind me. I now have a studio in my basement with a long-arm machine where I keep myself busy quilting for others and for myself, too, when I get the time. I hope you enjoy looking at what I've been working on!

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