10 Things Your Longarmer Would Like You To Know

10 Things Your Longarmer Would Like You To Know…

Have you always wondered what your Longarmer would like you to know before you meet up with them? Let me take the guess work out for you. Don’t forget to ask questions to your Longarmer. Remember it’s your quilt top that they are quilting for you.

1. Cut Your Threads – if you have a light color top, the threads will show. Then fold your quilt top with your design being on the outside this will help keep threads contained. Please clip all long threads, they can get tangled up with the machine.

2. Square Top – It makes it easier to load your top onto the layers of your quilt. I stitch/baste a 1/4” seam all around the quilt top to hold all the layers together, so I will know if your top is square. It’s ok if its a little off as long as you know this.

3. 6-8” bigger all around – Please give us what we ask for the batting and quilt backing. We have a longarm and not a domestic or sit-down machine, we load up the layers separately unto the machine. This helps if we use the clamps to hold unto the sides of the quilt top. The layers will stretch a bit depending on how much we tighten it to the machine.

4. Shipping – If you are shipping your quilt (if even you are not), please label your top and backing and which direction it will go too. It’s easy to pin a yellow sticky note to the top of your top and to your backing. Please make it easier for us, we are not mind readers.

5. 1/2” seam allowance – I do tell my quilters to use a 1/2” allowance for the backing. It just makes it easier.

6. Quilt Backing – Don’t be particular about your quilt backing…having it line up or pieced a certain way. As I mentioned above, we load all layers separately. I can not guarantee that it will come out the way you want it too.

7. Pressing – Please press all seams, top, and backing really well. I’m ok with the shipping lines.

8. Tell me what you want – If you do not know what you would like, at least tell me what you don’t like and I can give you a few ideas. I normally send pictures to see if we are both on the same track.

9. Selvages – I love it when my quilters uses the selvages for their backing. It’s a straight line and helps me load the quilt up faster.

10. Batting – If you don’t know which batting to use, ask your longarmer, most will stock 1 or 2 of their favorites.

***You can check out more tips on my longarm quilting page on how to prepare your quilt top, batting, trimming, threads, and more!