AboutAudrey Zohner Expertise I am an expert rag quilter. I have made over 100 rag quilts and would love to assist others with questions and methods. I don't know much about actual quilting like machine or hand quilting or applique. I am, however, the resident expert on rag quilting in my town. If you want to make a rag quilt, I am your woman.
Experience I have been sewing for 12 years and rag quilting for 4. I have experienced just about every pitfall there is in rag quilting. Check out my quilts at audreysragquilts.etsy.com.
Organizations ISU Craft Club
EtsyKids
Education/Credentials High school diploma
Bachelor's in Animal Science
Question QUESTION: Hi Audrey,
Here is my 1st question. I was trying to do a sample block before I started cutting my good fabrics. I have a White Quilters star(I know a real poo poo machine, but live and learn). What happened is this, I put the 1/4 inch quilting foot on the machine and the fabric kept turning up toward the middle from the right side. I find this rather disappointing since this is supposed to be a quilting machine. Can I make any adjustments to the presser foot pressure to help it out? I know heavy starch would help, which I will use with the new fabric. When you do a rail fence, do you make real long strips and sew them and then cut them to the correct length? I am thinking that that would work better. After the square was done, I pressed it and it seemed a little bigger then the 6x6 it was supposed to be.I am assuming that if I put the center of the block right on the center of my ruler, I could just trim it to make a true 6x6 block. Blah Blah sorry. I would appreciate any help you could give me. Thanks
Beth
ANSWER: Hi Beth,
Um, I am a really good rag quilter, so real quilting is a new experience for me, but here goes.
I don't understand what you mean by turning up towards the middle from the right side. Starch will definitely help with sizing and stretch, though.
When I made a rail fence rag quilt, I made all my rectangles about an inch longer than they were supposed to be and then trimmed off the excess.
A friend of mine does rail fence quilting for real and this is what she does. When she has to sew a strip onto a lot of squares, she cuts a long strip of whichever fabric she needs and sews it on the squares in a line. Basically, she sews the strip onto a square and then without cutting the thread or strip, lines up another square below the first and keeps sewing. At the end, she ends up with the squares sewn on one side to the long strip and she just cuts the strip between the squares.
If the square is bigger than 6 inches, I would increase my seams instead of cutting off the edges. Cutting the edges will make your outside blocks thinner than the inside blocks. If you don't care, then you can trim, but if you want them all the same size, I would increase the seam allowance.
I hope this helps. I'm willing to help with the first question if you give me a little more detail. Thanks!
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QUESTION: Thank you so much. Sorry I ran on so long. What I mean is the material (seam allowance) is being drawn up into the space in the center of the quilting presser foot. It starts to pull in from the right, and works it's way into an upward loop or ruffle of fabric, then into the space in the presser foot. I mostly sew garments, which has a 5/8 seam allowance so more of the material is held down while stitching is done. Thank you for answering so quick. I appreciate your help.
Answer Well then, that foot is worthless! Well, probably not worthless, but definitely frustrating. The best suggestions I can give would be to
1) starch your fabric so it is stiffer and less likely to bunch,
2) invest in a walking foot to ensure the top and bottom layers are being guided by feet and pressure, or
3) (best suggestion) Buy Wonder Tape at your local fabric store - It is a sticky tape that will adhere your layers together and keep them from bunching while you sew. It will also disintegrate the first time you wash your quilt. The tape is water soluble. However, your sewing needle might get a little gummy while you're sewing, so buy some Sewer's Aid to put on the needle and presser foot. It's a kind of lubricant that will make it easier to sew through the layers of fabric and tape. Both of these are only like $2 or so. I hope this helps.
