X Hatch Borders for regular and wave Xhatch patterns

Transcription

1 How to use X Hatch Borders for regular and wave Xhatch patterns A cross hatched border looks great around a quilt but the question is, how to set it up and sew it out? - with everything square, matching and looking great. These instructions guide you through this process BEFORE you start any quilting to get your settings correct, and having the comfort of knowing it is going to work. A worked example with illustrations is included. If using p2p patterns, you could just pop the corners in and use a border pattern which is only 1 hatch wide and repeat it lots of times across and down the sides of the quilt, but it is unavoidable - the fabric moves and those repeats very rarely meet well. The worst of it is that cross hatching is the pattern which shows these mismatches up the most! However, that pesky little single repeat (or its non-p2p brother) is vital to work out just which pattern multiple to use we will just never sew with it. It is best to use as large a multiple as possible with the fewest number of repeats and remember if there is not one available, I will draw up one for you to suit. Assumptions for these instructions: a. Borders are the same height on each side of the quilt. b. Margins = 0 as usually XHatching is done right up to the seam lines Pattern Types Those with the notation bdr or p2p in their name - these are p2p patterns and therefore will run continuously from repeat to repeat should that be required - they are always something and a half number of hatches high - that means that any multiple at all will always run continuously without ever requiring jump stitches, overstitching or turns inside the pattern. There is maximum flexibility with these patterns. Even though they are p2p patterns they should not be placed with the p2p function. If you do this the angle from one repeat to the next will change and the patterns will never meet well. - the border corners for these patterns are formatted so that they can run continuously. If you are chunking the side border you could do one repeat coming up the left hand side, the corner, across the top,the right hand corner and then down the side. non P2P Xhatch blocks - these sew block by block, not sewing continuously from one to the next. Pattern Notations These patterns have the abbreviations bdr - for border, or bdr cnr - for a border corner. They also have two associated numbers: - the first number relates to the multiple of hatches used in the height, - the second number is the multiple of hatches used for the width. XHatch bdr cnr 2.5 by is a corner pattern - it is 2.5 hatches high - it is 2.5 hatches wide XHatch bdr 2.5 by 6 - is a border pattern hatches high - 6 hatches wide. Borders matching with the Corners It is always best to put a separate corner pattern into the cornerstone corner of the borders. - this ensures that the patterns which go out each way from them are able to be matched up beautifully right up to them. The hatching in the borders has to be square, or as near as possible to square. This is because the corner pattern

2 How to use Xhatch in Bdrs & Cnrs- page 2 of 5 is always going to be square and that is what we want to match up to. When squares are compressed widthwise they become diamonds standing up not good. If squares are compressed heightwise they become diamonds lying down not good. What size pattern to use? The magic number is For any cross hatching this is the number to remember! We could do the maths again, but easier still is to let your computerised longarm do it for you. The patterns are all drafted in squares so if we select the version which has the number of hatches high we require, but is only one hact wide, then the number of repeats the machine calculates to fit into the width (or length) of our quilt will be the pattern which we select. This is done as follows: written for Statler Stitcher users For borders it is easiest to start with how many hatches high do you want the pattern to be? Two options: Eyeball it just look at the border and decide you want it 3, 3.5 or 6 etc hatches high Do a little maths. How far apart do you want the lines to be? - divide the height of your border by and divide the answer by the distance apart you want your lines - eg height of the border is 5.5 inches and the lines are to be about 1.25 inches apart: 5.5 / / 1.25 = Yikes! So I could go a little closer together and use a pattern which was 3 hatches high, or go a little further apart and use a pattern which was 3.5 hatches high. Corners Now that it has been decided how many hatches high the pattern in the border is to be, the corner will decide itself. You use a square with the same number of hatches wide as high. - if I had opted for the 3.5 high border, the corner pattern to use would be the XHatch bdr cnr 3.5 by likewise, if I had opted for the border with 4 hatches high, the corner pattern to use would be a 4 by 4 one. 1. select the x1 version of the pattern you wish to use and ensure it is highlighted (in this case XHatch bdr 3.5 by 1) 2. select the Repeat Patterns icon 3. under the Repeat Pattern Setup heading on the left hand side - the default position of the Freeze Aspect which will be On if not, toggle it to the On position. 4. order is important here: a. change the pattern height to what you are wanting to stitch it out at (in this case 5.5), press enter on your keyboard. Freeze Aspect will now default to Off which is what we want it to do Top (& Bottom) Borders To look really good, the border xhatching needs to be as close as possible to squares on point the same as the corner block. But - how many squares on point are required to go across from one corner pattern to the other?

3 How to use Xhatch in Bdrs & Cnrs- page 3 of 5 b. in the Total Width box put the width of the border you are wanting to stitch (in this case 58). This width is from the inside corner of a corner square, to the inside corner of the square on the other side. Press enter on your keyboard. 5. If you look at the details area on the left hand side of your screen, it will tell you how many repeats it did for a best fit'. This is number of repeats for a x1 version. In this case What patterns to use? Ideally no repeats use a 3.5 by 37 pattern. - if it is not there, request that I draw one for you. fudging repeats with prime numbers!: remember from school days what these are? In this case 37 is a prime number (it can only be divided by itself or one to get a whole number.) What if a x37 version is not available (I might be on holiday and cannot draw another pattern)? 36 is very near 37, and you could use two repeats of a x18 one, or 4 repeats of a x9 one, 6 repeats of a x6 version, etc. What about going the other way to 38 repeats, and use 2 repeats of 19? Decide on what best suits - including whether you have such a version available. use two different patterns combine two (or more) patterns to make up to the 37 repeats. Use as few as possible for this to avoid the matching difficulties when sewing. - for example, a 20 plus a 17 would do the trick Combine the patterns and use it as a single pattern. Which ever option you use - AUDITON: 7. place the top border Put in the border using your quilt measurements and this time instead of using the x1 repeat, use the one decided upon. (in this case I am going to use 6 repeats of a x6 version) Make sure the same process is followed as was done with the x1 one (2 to 5 above). - however, move the head to the inside left hand corner of theborder - in the settings area select the bottom left as the registration point. 8. add the left corner - do not move the machine head - click on the Repeat Patterns icon, - set it up for the required height (the same as the border height), - in the settings area select the bottom right as the registrations point and click OK. This will place the top left hand corner. Zoom in to where the corner meets the border. Is any contracting or expanding of the border pattern putting it outside the realm of possibilities? In this case the 36 squares rather than the 37 as calculated, look just fine. Not looking good is more likely to happen when there are small numbers of the x1 repeats. 9. add the right corner - move the head to the inner corner of rhs border - using the highlighted corner pattern, which remains set with the measurements from the left hand corner placement - click on the Repeat Patterns icon, - in th setting area enter 270 to the pattern rotation area - in the settings area select the bottom left as the registration point - click OK.

4 How to use Xhatch in Bdrs & Cnrs- page 4 of Set sewing order: - #1 corner on the left, #2 main border, #3 corner on the right. The area to babysit will be where the corners meet the border, and if applicable where the border repeats meet. 11. Combine the group 12. I would not sew at this point calculate the side bordes and check that they are going to work first. 13. create the bottom border - rubber stamp the combined top border - rotate it 180 (two times 90 ) - move it to somewhere down the bottom of the screen Side Borders Turning the Quilt In many ways the easiest option is to turn the quilt. That way this border could be sewn in a continuous fashion, without the need to match the repeats. The way this is achieved is exactly the same way as the top and bottom borders were done with the corners already sewn in. It always pays to have basted the side borders to the batting and backing, and trim very evenly to this line be it.5 inch away from it or 2 maybe 4 inches away. Just keep it even. Chunking This is when the side border is broken into chunks and as large chunks as possible are stiched down the sides as the quilt is rolled up. Machines with a deep bed will be able to bite off large chunks at a time, those with not so deep beds will only be able to bite off small chunks at a time. The advantage of doing this is that the quilt does not have to be turned but the disadvantage is that babysitting is required to ensure that the ends of the repeat patterns match as well as possible. 3. Enter the pattern height the pattern is to be stitched at (as before, 5.5 ) and press enter on the keyboard. 4. Enter the total width (tricky here this is the width we would want the border to stitch out at if quilt has been turned!!) and press enter on the keyboard. I was using 36 inches in this example. 5. The best fit turns out to be 23 repeats (in the green oval) 6. What is the number to be worked with? nice even numbers: If the result was, say, 24 repeats a x24 version could be used (if there was one available and if it would fit) or two repeats of a x12 one, or 3 repeats of a x8 one, etc. If the result was, say, 22 repeats you could possibly use a 2 repeats of a x11 version. Decide on what best suits including a. is such a version available. b. would the length of a x11 version fit in the quilting space available to you? not so nice prime numbers: If, as in this case, it turned out that 23 repeats were required, and a x23 version is neither available nor would fit. What are the options? a. Try a x24 version or a x22 version just see what looks best. 7. Place the left side chunks W orking on the screen, place the pattern down the side (as if the whole quilt was available to be quilted). A similar process as was done for the top and bottom borders needs to be done for the side borders. We will work out how many repeats in total are going to be required, and then work out the size they are going to be chunked into. 1. Select the pattern with a x1 repeat 2. Select the Repeat Icons button

5 How to use Xhatch in Bdrs & Cnrs- page 5 of 5 I selected the x8 version, set the pattern height at 5.5, pressed enter on the keyboard, set the total width at 36, press enter on the keyboard. To get it running where I wanted it to, I selected the reference point position as being the endpoint for this pattern, and set the square up quilt angle at 90. If you get these angles incorrect, just go back in there and select what you think might be right it will soon show you if it is not! - Is this looking good? - Is this a workable size repeat? Are those on point squares in the side borders looking happy next to the corner ones? Zoom in check it out this is the point of the audition. If it is not looking good, now would be a good time to stop! (it sure saves a lot of unpicking or fudging when you get to the end and find it did not work and how do I know this???) Sewing out 1. Toggle all the patterns on the screen as sewn 2. Select the ones which you want to sew. 3. untoggle place boundaries and reposition if necessary before sewing Tip for when sewing down the sides: Always keep the Xhatch pattern at 90 or 270 when going down the sides. Anything else and the diamonds will not meet, or they will cross over. Rather than changing these angles, straighten the quilt. To do this, I use the channel lock running the machine head up and down the seam lines, moving the quilt on the machine so that it is in place while that border is being sewn. Do one side, stitch out and then do the other side. Once sewn, the middle of the quilt can be stretched out as per usual for quilting there, but your borders are straight! Sometimes some major enccouragement needs to occur but occur it does! Across the bottom of the quilt I do a similar thing checking that the fabric is straight, and pushing the quilt around as required until it gets straight. Borders without Corners or Bars 8. Place the right side chunks. - select the left side border repeats - rubber stamp the - rotate the rbuuberstamped selection 180 You can just have fun here. I always prefer it where the pattern has been stretched into diamonds personally I always find them more elegant. Just ensure the quilt is placed on the machine so that the bars can be stitched out that way across the machine!