In search of the “perfect” quilt sandwich
Detail- “Emerge”
Preparation is key for beautiful quilting. Before you take one quilting stitch, you have already made a lot of decisions that have a huge impact on how easy it is to quilt that quilt. Your quilt sandwich carries with it a set of decisions that are set for the duration of your quilting. So a lot of factors go into that “perfect” quilt sandwich and it’s best to make mindful decisions about each part of that sandwich.
I finally I think I have found the best combination for an easy-to-quilt quilt: Terial Magic + Misty Fuse + batting of your choice (which for me is wool). I have written here and there about my process, about Terial Magic, and about Misty Fuse, but it’s the combination of them that works so well for me.
When you think about it, most of us do one thing, not both: we baste our quilt sandwich together, but do not stabilize the fabric. What would happen if we both stabilized and basted?
I think it’s important to do both: stabilize and control movement (basting). I want to both stabilize my fabric and get all 3 layers to move together with no chance that any layer will move independently of the others. Tucks occur when one layer goes rogue from the others.
Let’s look first at stabilizing the fabric. I noticed that embroiderers, who obviously stitch very densely, always stabilize. It made me think, how can I stabilize my fabric without the embroidery hoops or add-in fiber stabilizers that they use? There is no way I’m going to hoop each section of a large quilt, and fiber stabilizers would make my quilt stiff and detract from the beautiful dimension of my quilting. (And yes, I’ve tried the wash out stabilizers-expensive and they did not stabilize as I’d like). I also noticed that Terial Magic was actually made for embroiderers to use for “hoopless” embroidery. Hmmmmmm-could that work for domestic sit-down quilters?
I started to play with the concept of stabilizing the top and backing of my quilts. And once I began to stabilize my fabric, it made a world of difference. Whether you quilt densely like me, or lightly, I think it is best to somehow stabilize your fabric so that you don’t get tucks. I know many quilters will use some sort of quilters hoop device or starch their fabrics, but neither method worked for me. Hooping was intrusive to me and starching was just not enough.
To stabilize my top and backing, I spray with Terial Magic, wait a moment for it to settle into the fibers and then press. The Terial Magic makes the fabric almost as stiff as paper, yet the fabric will yield enough to easily manipulate it in the harp of the machine. It’s a nice combination of stiffness and flexibility. I’ve used it on cotton and silk with no ill effects.
Because the Terial Magic completely stabilizes the fabric, you must be mindful to press with the grain of the fabric. If you were to inadvertently press against the bias, you might “stabilize” wonkiness into your quilt and you do not want that! Not that I have ever done that…
Even with stabilized fabric, you still need to control the movement of all 3 layers: top, batting and backing. There are all kinds of ways to baste and I’ve covered my thoughts in previous posts, but I will review them again. My opinion on basting is this: I want a “naked” quilt sandwich to work with-I do not want anything in my way. I want to romp across that quilt without running into pins or basting threads.
I am not a fan of pin basting. I see two problems: the pins and the weight of the pins. If I am quilting a pin basted quilt, I have to stop and take out those pins as I go along. It’s really easy to have a wobble when I restart my stitching. And how many times have you caught your quilting foot on a pin? Also, on a large quilt, those dog gone pins can weigh a lot! Plus, they really don’t do a good job of holding my fabric in place anyway. If I’m in a tricky area and release the pin, all the puff goes floating away, waiting to make a tuck. Ugh.
My favorite basting method is to use Misty Fuse. Misty Fuse is a two-sided fusible that does not alter the hand of the fabric at all. It is almost gauze-like. I first learned of this method from Judy Coates Perez and her method is here.
In summary, I fuse the front of the quilt solid with Misty Fuse and the back of the quilt with 1″ square (or so) pieces of Misty Fuse, about a fist’s width apart all across the back. Then I fuse the backing to the batting, then the front to the backing/batting. The result: a “naked” and stable quilt sandwich. All 3 layers move as a unit-perfect! I buy Misty Fuse by the roll since I use it so much.
So now, I’ve got a quilt sandwich that is both stabilized and securely basted. I can just enjoy the quilting, with no concern about tucks or a wonky quilt-love!
I’ll be linking up on Friday with Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday and she always has a great collection of interesting links.
You’re the second California quilter I’ve heard mention Terial Magic. I’ve not yet seen the product in Ohio. Some quilters seem to use starch to achieve that immobility, but I think they wash their quilts after quilting to remove all that buggy attractiveness. And yeah, I’m reaching the point where I may well purchase a roll of Mistyfuse, after I pay my car insurance and real estate taxes. Have you ever tried fusible batting?
Oh yes, you definitely need to wash it out afterwards. Otherwise it would attract bugs and be stiff. I have used fusible batting and I personally did not care for it. It created a very stiff quilt sandwich, hard to manage. It might work very well for smaller pieces, but not for larger ones.
Hi Jenny,
So tell me more about Terial Magic. Do you spray directly onto the front of your top fabric? What is your schedule; do you spray with TM before adhering the fusible? I know you wash and block; for those who don’t wash and block, can this product still be used or must it be washed out after? Can it be used on all fabrics without mishap, like silk, silk organza, brocades, etc? I know you often use white fabric so I wonder if you have had any trouble with the spray causing dark colors or hand dyes to ring or run? Thanks Jenny, as always your articles are so useful and informative!
Nancy
Wow good questions Nancy- hadn’t even thought about some of those questions. I did spray it on before I fused. I would not leave the product in – you need to wash it out. I did use it on a small piece that had radiance (silk / cotton) and it worked well. But I have not tried it on the other fabrics you mentioned. As always, you know you need to test before you try it. Don’t believe me!
Hey Jenny,
As always, excellent why and how as well as all the gorgeous quilting! Thank you! Do you wash your quilt when it’s done? Does the T Magic wash out?
Thank you again for your generosity!
maggie
Hi Maggie! Yes, I do wash out out.
Inspirational tips and tutorial. I don’t like the feel of fusible batting for free-motion quilting, nor in general. Have thoroughly loved Terial Magic, but pretty much used it for cutting applique with electronic cutters. Also love Misty Fuse. I have some small projects in need of sandwiching today and look forward to using your technique.
QuiltShopGal
http://www.quiltshopgal.com
I think you’ll like the combination of the two if you try it. Do write me if you try it though-I’d love to know what you think about it.
Where do you purchase Terial Magic? And do our local quilt shops carry Misty Fuse?
Many thanks for a very helpful post.
You’re welcome Luanne. I got some at Thistledew but at the time I bought them out. I always prefer to buy at my local quilt shop, but, I do think they carry it in big box stores also. I got a big one on line because no one carries the large sizes locally.
Jenny, Thank you so much for your generosity! ! You share all your hard won secrets like they are nothing. Having just ruined a very large. (for me) quilt that I had well over a year in, I can’t wait to try your genius! Really, thank you.
Sandy
Wow! No wonder your quilts look so perfect! If I ever work with wool batting, I will keep the Mistyfuse in mind. The one time I worked with it, I didn’t like the way the wool shifted so easily. But I really liked the way it looked.
Oh don’t accuse me of perfect Debby, giggle! If you saw them in real life you would know they are not! If you try wool again I think you’ll be happier if you use the Misty Fuse.
thank you for all of the information, this would probably deal with the challenge of intensively quilting one area and doing significantly less in another, I do like the differences in surface texture, but not wrinkles and pulls in the fabric
Yes, I do not like those wrinkles! I still will try to quilt my pieces evenly, but even if I don’t, I think the TM will help keep everything in place. Thanks for commenting Suzanne.
Thanks for the tip on Terial Magic. I have not heard about it. I will try it and look forward to it!
Let me know what you think if you try it Betsy. I’ve noticed that sometimes what works great for me does not always work well for someone else’s work.
thanks for the info about t magic, I’ll try that. I just received a ruler foot that fits my juki tl model. I tried a few lines last night. Obviously I need to do more but I was impressed. Smooth lines that looked good. I can see myself doing both ruler work and free motion on my pieces. Looking forward to your comments on that. I saw your beautiful piece in Houston. Thanks for sharing sew much!
I am on the fence about the whole ruler work thing so I’ll be interested in your take on ruler work. Thank you for the comments Diana!
This is genius! You may have just changed my life. Thank you for sharing, I am definitely going to try this. I just have to find some of this magic stuff. I will no doubt have to go online but that’s ok. I can’t buy misty fuse around here either.
Well try it and see what you think. I have used this on several quilts now but I haven’t thoroughly tested it. Write me pls if you try it-I’d like to know how it worked for you.
Hi – I’m curious about how you do the fusing for a large quilt. Do you do it at the ironing board, or on the floor?
I do it on the ironing board. I have done up to 60″ but not a big bed quilt yet. I know others have with success.
When I first started to FM quilt, I loved the stiffness of fusible batting and feel it really helped me out. However, once I fused a quilt top and some of the fused batting “globbed” through my quilt top and left several darker spots in plain view that just wouldn’t come out. So I stopped using it, and went to a spray basting product, starch, and pins instead, which never laid as flat as the fusible. I’ve never heard of Terial Magic but will look into it after reading your blog post, thanks for sharing!
Interesting to read about your evolution on this. If not heard of the batting globbing through-yuk. Let me know what you think. When I’ve got a rock solid basted quilt it’s a joy to free motion quilt!
Jenny, Thanks for another great post on technique here! I have been spray-basting my quilts for some time because I want my 3 layers united. I’ve had very good luck with that; mind you, this is on quilts up to about 40″ square. Have you tried using just Misty Fuse as your sandwich fixer?
I can’t use spray baste on my silks and I have had it leave spots on my cotton. I used to do just the misty fuse but with my dense quilting I’ll get a lumpy quilt. The terial magic takes care of that. Nice to hear from you!
when you do your quilt sandwich to you sew all three pieces together then quilt it and then sew them all together
I’m a bit confused by the question, but I will spray Terial Magic on my top, Misty fuse baste, then quilt. Hope that helps. Please email me if that’s confusing.
Your post definitely supports my thoughts on reading blogs. Those who are detail-oriented and are will to share their opinions and discoveries are a boon to people like me who can’t imagine the amount of time and thought you’ve put into this post. I can give lots of love to “the big picture,” but the details elude me, and I’m okay with that. Thank you: I now have important information that can take my quilting to an improved level without having to work out the details. Believe me, that is an answer to my prayers! Actually, I would more likely just stay in the one level, never growing or improving, because I do not believe that I have what it takes to work it all out. So thank you, thank you for sharing! You can’t imagine what a source of information you are to the other half of the quilting world!
Thank you so much Mary-I appreciate your comment. I want to share what I’ve learned-why not? I am glad you find it useful-quilt on!!
Guess I need to get out of my ‘cave’ more often! I’ve not heard of Terial Magic! Who knew! Will defintely try this. I too use Misty Fuse…never throw out those little pieces! HA Thanks for sharing your tips/tricks and wonderful art with us!
I want to know what you think of it when you try it Robbie!
I’m not familiar with either of these products! Do they BOTH wash out completely afterwards? I know that a little stiffness is sometimes desirable for wall quilts, but can you achieve a snuggly bed quilt with Misty Fuse and Terial Magic? FWIW, I starch the snot out of my quilt tops and backings with heavy spray starch and it has helped me with my Tuck Monsters…
The Terial Magic washes out and the Misty Fuse does not. But the Misty Fuse does not alter the hand of the fabric. So I rarely make a bed quilt and I have not tried this on a bed quilt. I think it would be totally snuggly after washing out the Terial Magic though. I used to starch also but I feel that the TM is a great improvement-it will NEVER gum up your iron. I found that after quilting and handling my work, the starch tended to release afterwhile and no longer held things in place. As always though, test on your own piece to make sure it’s what you want.