I have not yet progressed to fmq but have the slippy mat thing to attach to my plexiglass surface (for when I get up my nerve) but it doesn't work with the walking foot for straight line quilting. I (and my kids) love the feel, who doesn't. Dreamer by Birch Fabrics. I would love to be able to straight-line quilt minky-backed quilts on my machine because the hand quilting is a very slow process for me. I find the weight of quilting with minky (I do use batting) the difficult part – my poor shoulders! How do you keep the minky from coming to the top of the quilt as you quilt it? UK Quilt postal service also available. "stick" with 505. I have the same question as anonymous above. Preparing your Backing for Longarm Quilting Your backing MUST be 10” wider and longer than your pieced quilt top (eg: if your top is 90″ x 90″, your backing needs to be a minimum of 5″ bigger on all sides – top, bottom, right and left sides = 100″ x 100″). :). It is a wonderful way to finish off a quilt. Some backings like minky or polar fleece have a nap. PRODUCT. Wide Backing; Kits; Minky; Minky and Cuddle Fabrics; Shop All; Store Information; Shop Policies; Longarm Quilting Services; Facebook; Instagram; Contact Us. Thanks for the links and the tips! Also for those who asked, I don’t pre-wash my minky before quilting with […], […] I know I’ll get asked, yes I used batting, and here is a post I did years ago about basting and quilting with this double sided minky. thanks for the info on using minky: I've been tempted to use it but have been too afraid to do so :-) I love the spray baste too, but have used it on my largest floor space which is carpet and have found that there can be overspray and the carpet gets sticky :-P Love your blog and the things you share with us: thanks so much!!! And every time I use it I swear *this* will be the last time. I need the thicker loft, but the thinner one had less shifting. So can't comment on on Joann's quality. ⠀ Using a large quilting design will keep your quilt from being too stiff and it will drape more like a cozy fleece throw. Any suggestions? Machine quilting rulers & templates for use with longarm quilting machines & domestic sewing machines. I am quilting a Cuddle minky with cotton top, no batting. Hey you mentioned machine stitched binding…. Thank you so much for the fun idea! It will also prevent swear words from being said. Hi Did you prewash the quilt top fabrics?while working with minky backing. Wow, I want to learn how to make a quilt. I was worried but did some research online and at the LQSs. http://www.SassySmidgens.Etsy.com.com. I'm so glad you posted this? I love how little ones will sit there and rub satin binding over their noses while they suck their thumbs, and it's a nice combination of textures to have the bumpy quilted cotton top, soft furry backing, and silky satin edges. Or call us today! We used blanket binding (the silky kind) for the edges. Backing: 1. Backing and Batting should be 8" longer and 8" wider than the Quilt Top. My Account. thanks for all the tips. Thanks for your post. ⠀ I tried washing the plexiglass and I tried a light coat of something … I can't remember what it was but it was something that I wouldn't have to worry about getting on the fabric … but it didn't make any difference for me. Working with Minky can be tricky sometimes because of the slippery quality of the fabric and the inherent stretch, but using spray basting helps to make this Minky-backed patchwork quilt easy. (e.g. ), and THEN I layered with the minkee backing and just did random eyelet circles throughout the quilt, … Thanks for sharing your ideas – when I started quilting almost 2 years ago, there was no info on quilting with minky. Anyway, thanks again! Minky always seems perfect for the backing to a baby quilt. :-). I read a tip of putting your minky and cotton on a carpeted floor – that will help it stay as you adjust and pin. It might make your needle dull more quickly but the quilt sandwich should glide across the sewing surface and it will probably help keep the minky from "crawling" too. I am having the same dilemma as Anonymous (5.20.17) How do you keep the minky from coming to the top of the quilt as you quilt it? Longarm quilting with Minkee backing HELP! Wouldn't ya say? That picture up there is before washing, but after washing it looked nearly the same with a tiny bit more “crinkle” in the top. Think about it? When backing a quilt with minky, I find that spray basting is the best way to handle the stretch. I think next time I'll try basting with 505 as you suggest, maybe skip the batting to keep it soft, but most importantly I think your larger, more open quilting helps to make these very different fabrics come together and cooperate in a quilt, so I'll try that, too. The Dritz brand spray from Walmart is okay but not great with Minky…. Hope i can find the best answer to my question somewhere – thanks for the tips on this page. I decided to try it with my latest project and any tips are greatly appreciated. We just quilted the sheet and a Minkee backing, no batt. Longarm Quilting Service by award winning quilter, Frances Meredith based in the UK, serving quilters locally in Bristol, the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Herefordshire, Somerset, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, South Wales (Cardiff and Newport), Monmouthshire and Gwent. After I machine stitch the binding on it’s ready do be used and loved and fought over relentlessly! Feel free to share any other tips in the comments section…I’m sure we’d all love to read them! Thoughts on Quilting with Minky Fabric. And I've pinned in addition to the spray. The large swirls pictured are a good option. To cut square edges, lay your minky out on a large surface such as a dining table or the floor. great reference Allison…. The idea was to start with a large backing fabric, lay down a strip and place another strip right side down on top of the first. Free-motion quilting with minky. To estimate your quilting cost: Multiply Width X Length / Divide by 144 / Multiply by $4.00 For Example: 75” W X 75” L =5,625 divided by 144 = 39.06 X $4.00 = $156.25 “ I love quilting but had trouble finding someone to long arm quilt my finished work, that is until I discovered Rose. She got 2 top sheets and wanted to turn one into a coverlet type throw. I’m. […] I back a lot of my quilts with Cuddle…I did a post here with some tips for backing and quilting a quilt with Cuddle […], […] Baste, Quilt and Bind. Thanks for any advice you can give, not a novice, but it’s also been a while since I’ve had the luxury of enjoying quilting again. I don't think it's as hard to use when you do smaller blankets. It might make a difference if my machine was dropped into a table and I could have just a normal wood table surface. Any tips for this? :-). I’ve been intimidated by Minky for years, but once I got it basted up it really wasn’t hard to quilt over. We feel that longarm quilting rivals the 7 wonders of the world and we love it. I am working on one now that the back is red and it is coming up on the top that is white. If you have any new tips, for a beginner, I would love to hear them! The story of the quilt is the record of the human family. Is this the set-up everyone else has? ;). Next quilt I start I'm going to try the double sided minky…. Luxe Cuddle Tie-Dye Rabbit Gray. I usually use a size 90/10 (?) Thank you. They are premium fabrics so they cost a little more than JoAnn minky but the are SO MUCH SOFTER. I am not an expert but did just finish a baby quilt with Minkee on the back. If you notice the backing pulling through to the front in the stitches, try switching to a thinner needle. Machine and Long-Arm Quilting with Cuddle® Cuddle® is a 100% polyester micro-fiber plush fabric that is long-lasting, easy to sew with and simple to care for. I have worked with minky quite a few times over many years and it can be a headache! The key to loading a quilt on a longarm frame is understanding the grainline of fabric and how to find the midpoints of your quilt top, batting, and backing. Welcome to Clever Girl Quilting! Hi Allison, miss you! I decided to serge my raw edges as soon as I got it home; you could just use an overlock stitch on your regular machine. It will wash out. Things go better if I can create little air pockets before the quilt goes under the needle but that takes some wrangling and results in very wobbly lines. Thank you so much for this tutorial. ARTISTIC QUILTING - The Latest From My Quilt Studio. Note though I bought my minky from a quilt shop. Sheila – I want to use the backing minky for my binding. If the stretchiest part of the fabric is supposed to be between the side clamps, wouldn't that be HORIZONTAL, and from roller to roller would be VERTICAL? I think it's such a great idea to use Minky for the backing, I used it for my son's quilt and I'm planning on using it again for some throw quilts. After that I decided to use the minky for binding but that didn't seem to work too well either. I am confused as to which way to load the minky for best results. Just get the wrinkles and creases out without pulling it tight. The backing should be … Only FMQ. And it is all quilted! Sometimes I write these posts late at night and my brain doesn't work! So, the issue Sara posted about in her trip to the dry cleaner, would have been avoided if she had used one of those. Right after basting I stay-stitched around the edges using a long stitch length to keep everything in place. ", Marguerite Ickis, The Standard Book of Quilt Making and Collecting, 1949, Beautiful Borders, Backings and Bindings by Jill Reber, Quilts From the Quilt Makers Gift by Joanne Larsen Line. I'm halfway through piecing a baby quilt top and decided to use a minky back after seeing your quilt and Faith's (Fresh Lemons Quilts), so am now wondering if I should prewash in case they shrink at different rates? I only atte… Now I just pin the hell out of it and call it good. Helen in Healdsburg. New Arrivals. But I will also have to spray it (even when not quilting) and that seem that will help a whole lot too! I do spray baste on the living room floor but I spread sheets out to catch the over spray and then just throw them in the laundry when done. I sew on my dining room table with a plexiglass surface which works like a charm for piecing and for quilting when I use cotton backs. I too have used batting and no-batting for making the quilts. Based in Fort Collins, My Longarm Quilter’s quilting services are charged by square inch measurement of the quilt top. I just pinned a quilt that has a minky backing that looks fabulous but had me worried. I make changing pads. Am searching online for an answer... Would I load it with selvages running perpendicular to the rollers (i.e., forming a T with the rollers) or in line with the rollers (horizontally, like train tracks)?I also need to piece my back and am going to need to piece some cotton to part of the minky to make it wide enough. Sometimes I skip the batting or use a piece of flannel, but I love the weight with batting after […], […] quilting with minky cluck cluck sew Can You Quilt Minky Fabric Size: 550 X 444 | Source: cluckclucksew.com […]. Do you ever quilt as you go, a block at a time? I don't have any minky in my studio right now but I think if I remember correctly, Stephanie, that you load it with selvages running perpendicular to the rollers (forming a T like you said in your comment). And this pattern uses a Minky self-binding to make finishing faster. I think the long length works well. For hand quilting I would only use flannel for sure. Thank you for sharing this, it's on my to-do list! When making a quilt sandwich, I use minky for backing, batting (usually Warm and White or Warm and Natural) goes in the middle, and patchwork on top. Acrylic is 1/4" tall with etched measurment lines. The first two like quilted very nice and then boom, this one is coming through the fabric. I have a quilt on the rack right now that has JoAnn's store brand Minkee as the backing. Because I get a lot of questions about it…I thought I’d share about my process when backing and quilting Minky. When ordering on our website we sell fabric by the YARD or HALF YARD. One other thing that many talked about was that the lint and ravels of Minkee were a nightmare. I did straight-line quilting but used my dual-feed foot and it worked super slick! I made a minkee throw-sized quilt using the flip and sew method, so I didn't have to quilt it later. It will help with hiding your seam. ⠀ Thank you for these greats tips on using Minky. technically I have never quilted anything, either.. (Hopefully by the time I make this I will have at least quilted the tote bag that I am currently working on..and Maybe I will have a clue..) haha.. I’m a little late to the party. :D. I made a quilt kit that had two different minky fabrics sewn back to back… I love it but it is a little unwieldy without some quilting them together (scared!) The next time, I prewashed the quilt top fabrics, used a thin 100% cotton batting, FMQ quilted the snot out of just the quilt top and batting BEFORE layering the minkee backing on (NOT recommended — uncovered cotton batting next to my feed dogs created lint of nightmare proportions! She quilted a stunning geometric pattern with the channel locks on the Millie and a ruler to get the distance. Hope it all works well! Minky fabrics tend to have a lot of fuzz. One throw was king sized and brown and doubled up so I could take off the ugly satin edge and pull the two sides apart giving me DOUBLE the fabric and the whole blanket was less than $5! The one thing people seem able to agree on is that Minky is tough to quilt! I’m definitely not an expert but I’ve found what works best for me. Thanks so much for sharing these tips. — It’s probably full size bed size — will pinning the daylights out of it be enough to keep it from bunching at the edges while I’m sewing? Luxe Cuddle Marble Grapemist. The only thing I did differently that I did like is that, since I only use Minkee backing for baby quilts, I like to use wide, pre-packaged satin binding for the edges instead of a traditional narrow quilt binding. Thanks for this post. See more ideas about quilting tips, longarm quilting, apqs. Just keep on checking your backing for puckers. Any tips for managing the fuzz?! Just tear off when you are done quilting. It looks so soft and cuddly. I'd love for you to one day do a tutorial. The answer is a resounding YES! I quilted with Minkee twice, both times using a batting, and both times not 100% satisfied with results. You get a lot of questions about it…I thought i ’ m definitely not an expert longarm quilting with minky backing. People i know who try to use minky with cotton batting for the edges using a large such! Minkee on the top strip open fabric nap, so i did seem! 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And it always works out hides the mistakes really well most common, but will use more basting spray follow... Method, so i did straight-line quilting but used my dual-feed foot and i have tried. Find the weight of quilting with minky can make me crazy one side of suggestions... To a thinner needle 've successfully quilted ( lap and smaller ) with minky... Acrylic is 1/4 '' loft currently but 1/8 '' in the stitches, switching! Nightmare for a machine quilter with minky… binding strips vs. folding it over to the top but! Spray with 505 and also pinned as with a plexiglass surface table attached to my surface.