I was quilting this the other day when I noticed that the inner border was not caught in the seam properly. What to do now? The black fabric is quite loosely woven so I think if I try to hand sew it down it will just fray more. The most appealing idea so far is to sew some kind of applique over it. Apparently, when the Japanese potters doing Raku found a crack in a pot, they mended it with gold and made it a highlight. This could be an opportunity for serendipity. It is in a bit of an odd place for an applique though and I'm not sure what type of applique I would use.
The other way would be to insert a bit of black under there and try to zig zag it in place with the sewing machine. Any other ideas?
On this quilt I tried a new for me binding method. I sewed the binding to the front, folded it to the back and glued it down with Elmer's School Glue. Then I stitched in the ditch from the front. It is not as nice as hand sewing but for a utility quilt it is much much faster.
21 comments:
I would just put an applique over it.
Hi Joyce!
I see that your problem is right by some white spotted fabric. Why not just put a black circle/oval applique over it? It may blend better than any other applique...
I'll tell you how some of the gals in my quilt group bind baby quilts if you want to avoid hand stitching. They attach it to the back of the quilt, bring it up and over onto the front overlapping the stitch line, and stitch it down with a decorative stitch on their machine. Makes for a nice, strong finish... Maybe try it on a small project and see if it works for you? 8-)
Happy stitchings!
Well, I don't have anything different to add - put an applique on the oops spot. Maybe a heart with the name of someone special on it? I'm pretty partial to goofy flowers. Might as well make it into a design element, instead of trying to cover it up.
You could crumb-piece a chunk of fabric and then cut an applique from that - either sew it to a black base that's a bit larger, or satin stitch around it with black. Tie in the scrappiness, the wonky/wild and the black inner border.
If this is leaving your house (if you're giving it away), I would definitely run it through the washer a time or two to make sure that the border holds up.
But if you're just going to send the top to me, you don't have to do that.... I'll take care of the washing and fixing. ;-)
And, definitely try the Elmer's glue thing again, but sew the binding to the back and topstitch from the front. That way, if it's not perfect-perfect, it will be semi-hidden on the back of the quilt. (Be sure to use thread that blends into the backing!)
I thought it funny that you've labelled this post "border problem". Do you plan to have more border problems in the future, so you'll be using this label a lot? Have I missed previous border problems? Inquiring minds....
Absolutely do the applique. I did that recently with a quilt that I knicked with the scissors when I was trimming threads.
I also vote for doing an applique over the frayed spot. cheers, QGB
I love the raku philosophy - make the mend a highlight. it's a fun quilt, good luck with the fix.
An applique, or satin stich around the entire border or fray check and needle turn to stich it down. Embelish with rick rack or some other cover embelishment.
I'm adding my vote to applique!
In the Raku style.
The quilt itself is busy & bright - so you have an alomst unlimited choice as to what to applique in what color. I say make it stand out & shout!
(Bright Red Heart - would be my choice.)
The only thing I can add is if you go with an applique patch, put several on the quilt so it looks like it is meant to be a design feature. I actually like it when some parts overlap onto a border or outside where they usually lie. Good luck.
Echoing the rest of these fine quilters--go with the applique! And Ali Honey's thought of putting several on so it looks planned sounds good to me!
I'd stick some misty fuse in the hole, and fuse it, Then simply satin stitch over the seam line... no one will notice
I always use applique to cover my many mistakes.
Sometimes I use "Witch Stitchery" which is a gluing agent that you can buy at Wal-Mart, JoAnn's, Hancock's, etc. or applique works as well. Hope this helps.
Applique! If you can find something "gold" to match your story - that would be fun! I think the quilt looks great!
Cheers!
Evelyn
I loved reading everyone's responses -- lots of good ideas! Sorry, nothing to add.
I've done a stitched binding by putting fusible thread in the bobbin and then ironing the binding over, then machine stitching.
I agree! Applique sounds great to me!
I really like the idea of a random applique shape . . . something round to offset all the right angles. In a hundred years it'll keep 'em guessin' *s*
A professional quilter I know says she has to make quilts quickly, as patterns for new fabric ranges, and sometimes sews the binding onto the back of the quilt, then machine sews it on the front. As you say, it's not as neat, but sewing on the front is easier to control, and quicker than hand sewing on the back.
Joyce, there's a product called Fray Check and Hancock's of Paducah should carry it. It's a fabric glue. If it were my quilt, I would unstitch the quilting stitches directly around it, carefully glue the frayed edge with Fray Check until the edges are stiff. Then turn under the frayed edge and hand stitch down. After that it's safe to applique over and re-quilt it. If you don't it may have a tendency to keep unraveling after each wash even under a simple applique.
I once had to replace a block in an already quilted and washed quilt so I know this process works and really doesn't take all that long.
Please let me know how it works out.
Yep I go with Ali - applique over the loose seam and add a few friends to make it look planned
Hi Joyce, when I get a rip in some clothes or a quilt I use Aleene's OK To Wash-It, it's a permanent fabric bond. I just dab a little wherever I need it and pin it while it dries and it will bond forever. It dries clear and you can wash it again and again without worrying about it coming apart. I would also maybe add some rick rack on the edge of the border just o secure it. It's a very cute quilt.
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