A quick, but important sewing machine tip for pieced patchwork quilt tops before you quilt them - or before you hand them over to a long arm quilter to quilt for you. I'm talking specifically about quilts with pieced edges like piano key borders or other pieced sections that go all the way to the edges of your quilt - or any quilt with out a border made up of a solid piece of fabric.
Secure Edge Seams with a "Victory Lap"
The hazard is that those tiny seams have a tendency to split or unravel slightly. Here's the simple solution. It's what professional long arm quilter, Susan Smith calls "taking a victory lap around your quilt." I'll demonstrate what I mean with the pieced Tumbler Patchwork quilt I made a few weeks ago.
What do I mean by a victory lap? It's a quick, easy seam sewn around the entire quilt perimeter, roughly â…›" from the raw edge BEFORE the quilt is quilted. This tiny but mighty step secures all those delicate edge seams, protecting your quilt from coming apart a stitch or two during handling or quilting.
This little sewing step is especially helpful when you're preparing your quilt top to be quilted, whether you're quilting it yourself or sending it out to a longarm quilter. That single line of stitching stabilizes everything, keeping all your careful piecing intact, no matter how many times the quilt top gets handled or moved. If you neglect this step, those split seams will be a bigger headache and time-waster for you or your long arm quilter.
This step is also helpful if you have a quilt with edges cut on the bias and will keep those bias sides from stretching.
The best part about this tip is how quick and easy it is. It doesn't require special skills or materials-just a simple straight stitch around the quilt top. If you keep your stitch width to â…›th of an inch, that seam will be covered by the outside binding when you finish the quilt.
It takes only a few minutes, but those few minutes can save you a lot of headaches down the road - both for you and your long am quilter. Think of it as insurance for your precious piecing work.
So next time you finish piecing your quilt top, especially one with plenty of seams on the edges, don't skip this little victory lap. It's a simple stitch that brings big peace of mind, letting you confidently handle your quilt until it's fully finished and ready to cuddle!
Tumbler Quilt Tutorial
If you're interested in the full tutorial for making a Tumbler Patchwork Quilt, go here.
How to Find the right Sewing Machine
This post is sponsored by Baby Lock Sewing Machines. I made this quilt with the Baby Lock Altair II sewing machine. It's perfect for any type of piecing and quilting with a large 11.25" workspace as well as machine embroidery capabilities.
If you're looking for recommendations for buying the right sewing machine for a beginner or ideas for upgrading your current machine, I've got a post here on how to choose the perfect sewing machine, for any level or budget.
Julie Jones says
Thanks for the victory lap post. Made my first quilt without borders and the blocks at the edges are threatening to unravel.
Cathy says
Hi there, I'm in the process of making my first quilt. I had never heard of the tip in doing
a victory lap around it. What I have done is went around the edge with my overlocker to finish the edges. I'm guessing and hoping this will do the same job as the victory lap.
Amy says
Yes - an overlock stitch will do the same thing!
Jacque Riese says
Sounds like a good idea as it will keep those pesky seams from splitting
BONNIE ADKISSON says
Thank you for the tip, a victory lap is a step that I wasn't familiar with & so glad you let quilters know..I found out too late, hope other quilters will apply this tip .
Dagney A Hein says
Thank you for the tip for sticking around the quilt top. I have experienced those little side parts loosening up. This tip will cure that.
Thanks again,
Dagney Hein
Kay says
I had never even considered doing this before but I definitely will now. Sometimes we really do need help to see the obvious. X