How to Prevent Puckering and Pulling in a Quilt

Great Must-Know Tips for a Smooth Finished Quilt!

There’s nothing worse then spending all that time creating a beautiful quilt top only to have the quilting pull the fabric slightly out of place and cause puckering. Without precautions, what was once a flat quilt top can quickly become a puckered up mess.

Fortunately, there are simple solutions. Puckering, little sewn-in pleats and fabric that is pulled out of place (“drag”) are all caused by shifting of the layers while quilting. While a walking foot is your main tool to prevent layers from shifting, there are other things to consider too.

Careful basting, supporting the weight of the quilt while sewing, and adjusting your machine can make all the difference. As always, it pays to test everything on a sample quilt sandwich before starting on the quilt.

Rachel Hauser has put together an excellent article that will help you understand and solve puckering and drag.

Links within the article take you to more good info.

Click here for the “Why Quilts Pucker and How to Stop It” article.

Image Source: The first and last images on this page are from Quilting Board.