190
CHAPTER QUILTING A QUILT
Square Up Your Quilt
Aer a quilt is quilted, you need to trim the excess batting and backing. As you trim the batting and
backing, you can also trim the quilt by a tiny amount if needed, to ensure that your quilt finishes
square. Squaring up a quilt aer quilting helps it to hang straight and to lie flat. You’ll need a large
square ruler, a long ruler, and a 60 mm rotary cutter.
Baste the edge of your quilt to stabilize all layers.
To ensure that the edge of your quilt doesn’t shift when trim-
ming, baste it by hand or machine with large stitches about
1
⁄
8
inch (.3 cm) from the edge.
1
Use two rulers to create a 90-degree corner.
Place at least the lower-right section of your quilt on a cut-
ting mat, making sure the whole quilt is supported. Position
a large square ruler in the corner of the quilt, as close as
possible to the edges. Align a horizontal line on the ruler
with a strong horizontal line in your quilt, such as a border or
a block edge. Align a vertical line on the ruler with a vertical
line in your quilt. Place a long ruler on top of the square ruler
to create a long vertical edge for cutting or marking.
2
191
SQUARE UP YOUR QUILT
Cut or mark the edge.
Mark this edge with a fabric marker and cut it later, or cut it
now with a rotary cutter. Cut along the edge of the square
ruler, and then shift your hand to the long ruler and continue
cutting. Cut only as far as you are comfortable; then shift the
long ruler up, aligning it with the already cut edge.
3
Cut or mark the remaining corners and edges.
As you near the upper-right corner, reposition your square
ruler. Align the vertical edge against the newly cut edge, using
a horizontal mark on the ruler to ensure that the corner is
square and 90 degrees. Mark or cut the corner and continue
around the quilt, trimming as you go.
4
Trim as little of the quilt top
as possible, while maintaining
straight edges and square cor-
ners. Make sure the edge you
are trimming is at least
1
⁄
4
inch
(.6 cm) from any pieced blocks.
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