Quilting Problem – Too much fabric to move when trying to machine quilt.

Have you ever been looking for a solution to a problem only to discover that the answer is staring you right in the face?  This happened to me recently.  I love to sew quilt tops but don’t relish the quilting part of the process.  I have a lot of difficulty maneuvering all the layers of fabric and batting under the sewing machine needle without really messing it up and then having to spend hours removing the stitches only to try again.  I mean when you think about how much fabric you are trying to move (anywhere from a little bit to 7 yards) it can be a very daunting task.  I have invested so much in all the cool ideas in the quilting catalogs that supposedly solve this issue that I could have paid someone else to finish the quilt and saved money.

So recently I was sitting in my office contemplating a problem and fiddling with a binder clip when I got the idea that this binder clip might just solve my quilting issue.  So I gave it a try on a huge quilt I am working on in a floor frame (hand quilting and having to move all THAT fabric is a pain and it is getting warm so I don’t want to laying on my feet or legs).  I took a really big clip – 2 inches – and accordion pleated the quilt (all three layers) and put the pleats in the clip.  It looked like to just might work so off to the office supply store to purchase a box of these clips.   I did this on two sides using about 7 clips total and presto-chango, problem solved!  It is so easy to reposition the quilt in the frame as well as move it around when I’m done working on it for the day.  I am praying this binder clip idea works as well on a machine quilted piece.  Maybe I will be able to get all my quilt tops quilted!