Quilt Tying FAQ
This is a compilation of QUILTNET postings about tying quilts.
All comments are the OPINIONS of the person who posted the
message......................
Quilt Tying FAQ
Get embroidery needles with eyes that will comfortably accomodate
the floss,
but are sharp. The rounded tips of most embroidery needles punch
holes in the
fabric if you can get it through at all. Also very important, have
LOTS of
needle threaders. I probably went through 5 or 6 per quilt. The
look of the
two battings was very different. I wouldn't advocate the
high-loft, it made
the quilt almost stiff with it's puffiness so that it didn't lay
smoothly and
relax when you lay it over a sofa. Probably the low-loft polyester
stuff
will
look much nicer. The other extreme is the cotton batting. I think
this is
about as thin as you can get without going to flannel! (Note: I am
a total
convert to the stuff.) It has a really nice feel to it and it
folds and
hangs
with a very nice weight (that may have been the problem with the
polyester
stuff, no weight). Added bonus with the "warm and natural" stuff
is that
there
can be up to 8-10 inches "between quilting lines" which I took to
include
tying. In the end, I did a knot every three inches or so because
that's how
I
liked it on the pattern and I left about 1/2 inch tails on the
knots. With
the
first one, they were probably 6 inches apart. The pattern on this one was a
roman gate with four strong colors of earthy greens and browns and one beige.
I used four different colors of floss to blend with each strip. It
was aTTof questions about the final stages of a to-be-tied
quilt that my husband &I are making. It's a double Irish chain
in nautical blue, a coordinating print on ivory, and muslin as
the "empty" blocks in between the chains. We're planning to tie
it, but would like to make that as unobtrusive as possible.
1.I was thinking about using matching blue DMC on the chains
themselves, but then using ivory DMC to tie within the muslin
blocks so that error in lining up the ties wouldn't be as
obvious. Is this okay, or will it look funny? (The back is a
multi-hued blue &gray waves sorta design-no ivory)
Go ahead and use two colors if you want. It will look fine.
2. This is a "group" gift to a woman at work, so several people
will be helping (I hope!) with the tying. It's queen-sized, and
we have big open spaces to spread it out in to baste the layers
together in, but how much/where should it be basted?
I don't bother basting a tied quilt - I just pin it. I put
the pins exactly where I want the ties, and remove them as
I tie. This might be a problem if you don't get it all done
at once, because some of the pins might fall out if you fold
it. You could use safety pins, although I tried that once
and stuck my self and ended up bleeding on the quilt!
I *do* baste all around the outside edge, about 1/4 inch from
the edge. I find this makes it much easier to trim the layers
together and to stitch on the binding.
3. Do we *have* to have something to put it in when we're tying
(we don't have anything)? What do we need to do
otherwise?
8 people going at a quilt all at once. You get in each-
other's way once in a while, but it's still ok. As many as
can fit around the table can help.
5. I've seen the instructions (ejp, I believe?) on options for
tying before, with the most oft recommended being the surgeon's
knot, I think. Does anyone still have this posting around (mine's
gone) that they could send me?
6. What type of batting should we use? Cotton, poly, blend, ...
the couple are currently living in Houston, but he and possibly
she will be in Boston for 2 years starting in August. I think I
want it fairly flat, not extremely puffy or anything. Is flatter
a bad idea? I'm leaning towards the good cotton that can be
tied/quilted long distances apart, since it would seem that it
will bunch up less in the long run.
I use "traditional needlepunch" batting from one of the big
manufacturers. I like it because it is kind of like a thin
blanket and is very easy to handle. It seems to hold up fine
through washing. Different battings have different
recommendations
about how close you have to put the ties. I think needlepunch
is about 6 inches, but I've probably gone as much as 8 inches.
Thanks for taking the time to wade through all of this. After all
this work (and a few more hectic nights ahead of me), I want to
finish it right.
>
Shelly
From: Jane
Hi Shelly,
While I don't consider myself a *experienced* quilter,
I have tied about 4 now, so I guess I sort of qualify to
try to answer your questions! :^)
1.I was thinking about using matching blue DMC on the
chainsTthis would look nice. You could always try
it and see how you feel...if you don't like it, you can untie
it and tie it again.
2. This is a "group" gift to a woman at work, so several
people
will be helping (I hope!) with the tying. It's queen-sized,
and
> we have big open spaces to spread it out in to baste the
layers
together in, but how much/where should it be basted?
Gee, I never basted before tying, even on a queen sized quilt.
Hmmm,
I guess I'm not very helpful on this one.
3. Do we *have* to have something to put it in when we're
tying
(we don't have anything)? What do we need to do otherwise?
Do you mean a quilt frame? I don't have a frame either...I just
lay the quilt layers out on the floor and carefully crawl around
on top of it to tie it.
4. How many people is a reasonable number to have tying the
quilt
at the same time? Several people have told me, "well, I
haven't
ever sewn/done anything like this before..." and I've told
them
that's okay, I haven't tied a quilt before either! Am I
asking
for a headache, or is it really easy to pick up on?
Well, I thought it was really easy. I've heard a quilt instructor
say
that if you can tie your shoe, you can tie a quilt.
6. What type of batting should we use? Cotton, poly, blend,
...
Again, I'm not an expert, but I've been led to believe that cotton
batting should only be used if you plan to quilt the piece. Cotton
batting needs to be secured every 2 inches or so. Poly batting is
good for tying, since it doesn't need to be secured in spots so
closeT it right.
But who defines what "right" is? I figure that if I'm happy with
the results, then it's *right*. Now, you can try to finish a quilt
in a "classic" or "traditional" style, and if you do that and like
it, then that's "right". What I'm trying to say is do what you
think
you (or the quilt recipient) will like the best. Who cares if it's
right or not. After all, it's a hobby and an outlet for
creativity...
enjoy!
I hope this helped.
Jane
Tying advice
Shelly and all else who are interested:
I have made several tied quilts, and I have just laid them out on
the floor.
I pin where I want the ties to go, and then roll it up, so only the
edge I'm
concerned with is available, otherwise, it will be a cat hair
disaster.
When I don't want the ties to interfere with the design, I make the
ties
on the back. The pinning is the biggest assist when doing this -
then the design on the front is secured at the corners, and the
ties won't
detract from the design. Meanwhile, on the back, the plain backing
is
livened-up by the evenly spaced ties.
Also, the color of the thread used for the ties doesn't really show
on the
front.
TA DAY
MAKING THE TOP (BOW TIE), THEN THREE PEOPLE WORKED ON TYING IT.
THEY LAID IT
OUT ON A LAMINATED TABLE IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM AND TWO PEOPLE HELD
IT TAUT
WHILE THE THIRD PERSON PUT SAFETY PINS IN TO BASTE (ABOUT FIVE
INCHES APART).
WE TIED IT WITH EMBROIDERY FLOSS, WHICH REALLY DOES MINIMIZE THE
TUFTS, BUT
YOU CAN ALSO DO THE ACTUAL KNOTS ON THE BACK, WHICH MAKES IT EVEN
MORE
UNOBTRUSIVE. THESE PEOPLE HAD NEVER TIED A QUILT BEFORE, AND IT
TOOK ABOUT AN
HOUR BUT WAS PRETTY SIMPLE. WHEN YOU ARE TYING A QUILT, THE
BATTING HAS TO
BE
THICKER THAN WHEN YOU ARE QUILTING. A BLEND BATTING, IF YOU CAN
FIND IT,
MIGHT BE A GOOD COMPROMISE FOR WARMTH AND THICKNESS. (BOSTON CAN
BE PRETTY
CHILLY, THOUGH!) IT'S A FANTASTIC GIFT AND I HOPE YOU ARE AS PROUD
OF IT AS
WE
WERE PROUD OF OURS.
Tth the batting over that, then put the top over that and
pin
all over the place. I would use a puffy batting if you like that
look,
or else just use a mid weight polyester one.
OK, so now the whole thing is taped and pinned to the floor. I
would
use a long piece of floss (about 1/3 of the skein) and go in and
out
where you want the first tie to be, then DON'T CUT THE FLOSS... go
right
to the next place you want a tie and go in and out again, repeat
until
your floss runs out. Then cut the floss inbetween the stitches and
tie. (Does this make sense?). I used this way for our aids quilt
day
and it's speedy. Lots of people can help. A little hard on knees
:-)
When it's all tied, untape and sew on the binding. BTW, I think
the
idea of different color ties sounds good.
Marla Sue
Go with cotton batting if you can; it's lovely. As far as tieing,
I've tied quilts two ways. 1) Set the quilt in the frame as usuall,
and tie away or 2)Spread it out on a hard floor (so as not to catch
the rug) and quilt/tie it. You start at the edge, so you can get
your
hand under it if you want/need, and tie carefully so the layers
don't
stift (not a problem if you've basted/pin-basted it well), working
along all the edges and then folding them in as you go.
My double irish chain(white w/green chains) is tied with DMC floss
in
the centers of the white squares. Apparently we didn't tie it right
(i.e. No surgeon's knots), because some of the ties have pulled
out.T.
We used
light weight crochet thread to tye with. I bought tapestry needles
at a
needlepoint store--the eye is big enough and the point is rounded
so it
goes through the layers easier (don't get the really big ones
though). We
made a quilt frame using two by twos. Cut fabric strips, double
them and
staple them to the two by two's. The corners are held in place by
light-weight c-clamps. This allows you to square the corners with
a
square. Cut the backing the exact size of the top, pin the backing
to the
frame, then spread the batting and pin the top on with the edges
even.
You could spread every thing out on a floor or big tables and pin
like
crazy. I always felt a frame helped because it held the fabric
taut.
Start tying at opposite sides. Remove the c-clamps from *one end
at a
time* and roll the quilt under as you need to to reach the center.
We had
the fram hanging from the ceiling but you can rest it on chairs
just asTittle knots
did not interfer with the design. Reach under the quilt, bring
your
needle up, back down and on to the next spot, leave thread in
between,
later you will clip and tye. We tied 4-6" apart. We prefered a
puffy
bat for tying because it takes care of any problems of your top not
being
flat. If batting comes through on the first pull, just gently pull
back
inside. For some reason it only seems to do that on the first
time. When
we did the quilts, cotton batting still had to be closely quilted,
so we
always used bonded poly bats.
Clip the threads half-way between knots, we just used a square
knot. Then
go back and clip all thread to about 1-1 1/2 inches. Many of our
quilts
have been in use a long time and the batting hasn't shifted or
bunched
even with lots of washing.
And, yes, even beginners can learn to do this quickly. On a frame
it
doesn't take too long, you only have to pin the edges.
Good luck.
Sharon
Original Question
I have a sentimental quilt top that isn't suited to hand-quilting
-- it's made of scraps of clothing I made as an impressionable youngster
during the cotton/poly seventies, and some of those squares are darned T of fiber
would you use for the actual ties?
Quilting thread, quilting thread doubled, perle cotton #8,
1/16th"
ribbon, wool tapestry yarn, DMC floss ...?
* How often would you tie it?
In the middle of every square, in the middle of every other
square ...?
* Where would you tie it?
In the center of the square, at the intersection of 4 squares
...?
* How sturdy would you make the tie stitches?
From top to bottom, bottom to top, then tie (a single), or
top to bottom, bottom to top, top to bottom, bottom to top (a
double),
...?
* How long a tail would you leave on the ties, and does the
length of
the tail depend on the tie fiber?
Overall Summary
There was an overwhelming preference for DMC floss, tied with
surgeons' knots (they're described very well below), and one-inch tails.
Interestingly, one person had very *bad* luck with DMC floss -- search on the word "shreddy".
The recommended interval for tying was mostly "season to taste", in
the 3"-6" range. Based on the richness of this response, I've made up my
mind:
DMC perle cotton in red, black, and ecru
tie at the intersection of 4 squares, rather than in the middle, tie at every OTHER intersection (it's a 48x48 grid of 2" squares, and
I'd like to get it done this millennium :)
use the "invisible tie" method described below (search on "DOLL needle")
I'd never heard of the Doll Needle method, but it suits me to a tee. They wanted to. Mind you, it's
hard to get throught the corner intersections sometimes (they used mostly knits!!!).
How sturdy would you make the tie stitches?
They usually went top to bottom, bottom to top, double knot (like a granny
knot). Sometimes these come undone, but if you just look it over once in a
while and tighten what's loose there usually aren't any problems.
How long a tail would you leave on the ties, and does the length
of the tail depend on the tie fiber?
I don't know if it depends on the fiber, but they've cut them shorter and
longer, just depends on their mood. They did the yarn really short once with an
Trter look.
What sort of fiber would you use for the actual ties?
Quilting thread, quilting thread doubled, perle cotton #8,
1/16th" ribbon, wool tapestry yarn, DMC floss ...?
My favorite is cotton crochet thread in a thickness that I think
looks good with the quilt, also in a color that looks good.
How often would you tie it?
In the middle of every square, in the middle of every other
square ...?
It depends on the bat and what I plan to use it for as to how often I
tie. Sometimes I might tie closer too if I think it would just look
better to do so. If I had 9 patches, I'd probably tie in the corners
vs the cener of the block as I could more evenly and faster do that
as to mark the center of each block and then tie. Unless you just
going to put ties randomly all over the quilt (like I did the baby
quilt of Lisa's where there really was no logical place to tie) then
you'd want it to line up evenly and to avoid marking, the corners are easy.
Where would you tie it?
In the center of the square, at the intersection of 4 squares...?
See above, again dependent on the type of the block or how many
pieces and what type shape they were in the block.
How sturdy would you make the tie stitches?
From top to bottom, bottom to top, then tie (a single), or
top to bottom, bottom to top, top to bottom, bottom to top (a
double),...?
Elizabeth, I do tied quilts for the AIDS Baby QUILT project each year.
I've learned a new technique for tying that eliminates the tied ends showing.
(The hospitals don't like baby quilts to have ties that can be "worried"
loose by babies or small children).
First of all, embroidery floss (5 strands) or perle cotton work very well
for this procedure. I also use HIGH LOFT batting because it creates a
more dramatic effect when you tie it (but that's simply a personal
preference, not a rule!)
To "Tie" without ties, you will need to purchase a DOLL needle (that's a
5" or longer needle that is used to sew eyes on cloth dolls--available in
most fabric shops or hobby stores. Thread the doll needle, do a quilter's
knot in the end. Starting at the top or bottom of your quilt, put all
three layers in a large hoop or quilt frame. You can choose to'tie' your
quilt at regular intervals, but no more than 3" between ties.
Take a stitch near where you want to begin and pop the knot into the inside
of the quilt. Make a stitch about 1/2" wide down thru the quilt, and bring
the needle up where you started. Stitch again over this first stitch, but T knot
on the surface by stitching under the X. NOW, put the needle thru the X under
JUST THE TOP LAYER of the quilt and guide it through to emerge where you
want your next tie to be. Then repeat the process of stitching an X ,
knotting and tunneling through to the next tie location.
The appearance of this is very neat, with pretty X's as ties and no
threads showing. It DOES use up a bit more thread than simple tying
would, but it makes a much more secure top than the traditional method.
It's also better if you don't personally like the little tie thingies
showing. As you can probably figure out from the instructions, the
long doll needle is crucial equipment for tunneling under the top
layer without losing your needle.
The only quilts I've completed to date have been tied. I took
a quilt-in-a-day type course at our community college and made
a Trip Around the World top with 4" or 5" squares. We tied
every intersection with all six strands of DMC floss. Starting
somewhere near the center and working out, we used a "chenille"
needle treaded with about 3 feet of floss (no knot) and working
from the top took a stitch down from one corner of the intersection
and back up into the diagonal corner (about 1/2" from in to out).
Pull the floss leaving a tail about 3" and without cutting the
floss continue to the next intersection and repeat till you've
come to the end of your floss. Now snip the floss in the middle,
between intersections. That leaves tails on each side of the
stitches long enough to work with to tie the surgeon's knots
(double wrapped square knots). Clip the ends to desired length
(I held the ends together near the knot and snipped about a
finger's width away from the knot).
For that first quilt, not knowing any better, I'd purchased
Fatt Batt. With thick batting and a fairly wide tying stitch,
it is easy to hide less than perfectly matched intersections.Tr about tying quilts
(that's what my Grandmother and her sister did all the time) so I'm not going to go
into detail here. BUT I just recieved the "Children of Many Nations" pattern
from Quilts and Other Comforts and was reading through it before I came to
work. On the bottom it said that if you are planning on tying the quilt to use
glazed or bonded polyester...thought that might help in choosing the batting....
Nothing new here, I guess I surgeon knot (double square), as just about
everybody else who has ever tied, and I also use all 6 strands of floss.
Depending on the look for which you are striving, I have tied 10 inches away,
4 inches away, and 6 inches, which is tedious as you really should
measure when the side on which you are working is plain. I have also done
seemingly hundreds tying the block intersections - each intersection.
Experiment, you may come up with something else you really like.
What might be an idea for the plain muslin back is to tie so the color
of the ties show on the plain muslin, rather than distract from the colorful tip.
Hi,
In response to your question about tying quilts, when I make quilts
for the ABC Quilt project they have to be strong enough to withstand
industrial washers and dryers. We use pearl cotton for the ties, go
down from the top, then back up about 1/8th inch from where we went down
and tie a surgical knot. That is like a double knot, but you twist the
end through the knot twice for each knot rather than once. We tie 4
inches (or there-abouts) apart. Depending on the top, the 4 inches
is measured straight or on the diagonal. I hope this helps.
Re: How do *I* tie quilts?
Very poorly, I'm afraid. I made a simple quilt for my son to
keep in the car to cover his car seat. It was flannel on the
back and a cute animal print on the front--No piecing. I put
medium loft batting in the middle and tied it with 4ply cotton
yarn (coats and clarks, I think). I used a square knot to fasten
the ties. The ties have stayed put, but in almost every case,
the fabric around the tie has torn. I now have a lump of batting
at one end of the quilt and a bunch of hard knots inside the quilt
attached (mostly) to the flannel backing or to the top fabric.
I keep wanting to toss out the quilt but my son likes the top
fabric. I don't know exactly what went wrong. I wash the quilt
often--that's probably the biggest contributor. I probably did
not use enough ties on it.
You might want to "tie" your quilt with buttons. I made a lovely quilt for
my mother (a quillow actually) that I tied with antique buttons. I
would sew aThe ditch", i.e. quilt along the seams,
you have a nice 3-dimensional effect in the light without having
quilting lines through your work.
2. Tying.
I have had good success with DMC floss, used 3 strands at a time
I thread a large eyed needle and work down up, then down
and up again. Tie with a square knot.
l l(thread)
l ______ l
______l_l____l_l____________ (fabric)
l_l____l l
l______l
3. After tying off, I leave about 1" tail.
I have used this technique on several quilts and some have even
gone through the washer and dryer on a gentle cycle of couple of
times and still are together.
Elizabeth,
I'm just a beginning quilter but we have just tied some quilts
at our quilt club and I helped my grandmother tie one for my cousin's
son. I think they came out very attractive. We used DMC floss (all 6 strands).
I personally like it tied at the intersection of the squares.
We tied what was called a "surgeon's square knot" (left over right twice,
pull tight, right over left twice, pull tight). I also saw this technique
used on the "Quilt in a Day" TV series. It's supposedly very tidy to leave
about 1/2 inch. I personally think the 1 inch tail looked very nice.
One other thought, the quilt I helped my grandmother with was a colorful quilt
for a toddler so we used different color floss to tie it in the
following pattern:
1 2 3 4 5 6
2 3 4 5 6 1
3 4 5 6 1 2
4 5 6 1 2 3
I'd use thicker batting, just because it'd look more comforter-like
and look be a bit less naked-looking. About every 4" is enough
no matter what I think, and I'd tie at the intersection of the
squares, not in the middle of them. The one time I tied, I used
DMC floss (I don't think just thread would be enough), and
jsut came up from the bottom and did a triple granny knot on
top (left over right, r.overl., l.over r.), leaving about 1/4"
tails. It's gone through the machine just fine and held
up generally very well, I'm impressed in retrospect. I got
these directions from the Eleonor Burns book I did the quilt
from. It was a log cabin, and one of the
fabrics is definitely wrong, but it was my first...
I tied a quilt that was made up of triangles connected in strips (a
flying geese pattern). I used DMC floss (2 strands). I tied at the point
of each triange (about 2 or 2 1/2 inches apart), where the triangle came
against the bottom side of the next triangle.
I put the needle through the top of the quilt and batting
and back up through the backing, then tied a double square knot.
I left a 1 inch tail.
For a quilt with 2" squares, I might just tie in
theTd it has been very effective.
Since you have 2" squares, I would tie the center of every
other square and see how I liked it. You can always add more
ties later if you think you need to fill it in.
My first quilt teacher taught me to tie using a surgeon's knot.
It is like a square knot except you wrap twice for each part of
the knot... so if you start out with a left end and a right end,
then you wrap the right end around the left end twice, and you
wrap the left end around the right end twice. Understand?
I usually leave about a 1 inch tail... maybe shorter or longer
depending on what I think looks best at the time.
Also, is this a quilt you plan on using? If so, you may want
to reconsider what material you use for the back. I go by the
philosophy that the back should be like a delicious surprise...
you should get enjoyment from looking at the back as well as
the front. Since most quilts you see the back just as much if
not more than the front!
What sort of fiber would you use for the actual ties?
Quilting thread, quilting thread doubled, perle cotton #8,
1/16th" ribbon, wool tapestry yarn, DMC floss ...?
With a low-loft batting, you're not going to need a heavy-duty
tie, so I'd probably use either perle cotton or DMC floss in a
color that suits your fancy. You could either match the backing, or pick
one color in the quilt top that you like a lot and use that.
Another option would be to make the ties randomly different colors.
How often would you tie it?
Where would you tie it?
I'd probably tie it in the center of each square, but the
corners of the squares would be possible as well.
How sturdy would you make the tie stitches?
How much abuse do you expect the quilt to take? The more
theTiness of the ties and strength of the tie fiber accordingly.
I made a quilt like this for my oldest grandson some years ago but
it was crazier yet. It had actual pieces of clothing--including
pieces of jeans, shirts with pockets and socks. It was neat when
done and he just loved it. Still does in fact.
What sort of fiber would you use for the actual ties?
I used yarn to tie the one I made. Quilt was so thick I had to
pull needle through with a small pair of pliars.
How often would you tie it?
Where would you tie it?
My ties were of necessity, as random as the pieces it was make
from.
You might start by tying where the corners of the blocks meet if the
blocks are not too large. Then just take a look at it and if it
does not look as if it will be sturdy enough you can go back in put
in an extra tie between the existing ones.
How sturdy would you make the tie stitches?
From top to bottom, bottom to top, then tie (a single), or
top to bottom, bottom to top, top to bottom, bottom to top (a double)
I used the single method and it seems to have held up okay so I
thinkthat would be sufficient for your purposes.
How long a tail would you leave on the ties, and does the
length of the tail depend on the tie fiber?
I left my ties about an inch long.
From Shelley Thu Jul 8 16:16:21 1993
This isn't very pretty, but I don't have time to fix it up nice.
On top of everything, we had a total power failure earlier this
afternoon, and our mgr has called a meeting for 4:30 today, which
we expect to be re-org news-oh boy. Enjoy the posts! Shelly
From Abigail Thu Apr 22 1993 10:35:12
Use needles with eyes that will comfortably accomodate the floss,
but are sharp. The rounded tips of most embroidery needles punch holes in the
fabric if you can get it through at all. Also very important, have LOTS of
needle threaders. I probably went through 5 or 6 per quilt. The look of the
two battings was very different. I wouldn't advocate the high-loft, it made
the quilt almost stiff with it's puffiness so that it didn't lay smoothly and
relax when you lay it over a sofa. Probably the low-loft polyester stuff will
look much nicer. The other extreme is the cotton batting. I think this is
about as thin as you can get without going to flannel! (Note: I am a total
convert to the stuff.) It has a really nice feel to it and it folds and
hangs with a very nice weight (that may have been the problem with the polyester
stuff, no weight). Added bonus with the "warm and natural" stuff is that there
can be up to 8-10 inches "between quilting lines" which I took to include
tying. In the end, I did a knot every three inches or so because that's how I
liked it on the pattern and I left about 1/2 inch tails on the knots. With the
first one, they were probably 6 inches apart. The pattern on this one was a
roman gate with four strong colors of earthy greens and browns and one beige.
I used four different colors of floss to blend with each strip. It
was a very subtle effect and I like to think that going to the trouble of
matching theTthe extra flair of attention to detail. Especially since the quilt was
such a simple pattern. This too was a gift and I wonder if the recipients have even
noticed yet. I kind of like having little subtle things that you
might not notice at first, but then become noticable over time. Also, if you're
wondering about how the different flosses look in the back, I had a dark green
print on the back that at least two of the flosses contrasted with and I was a
concerned that it might look a little stupid. However, the visible thread on
the back was pretty small, largest I found was probably less than 1/4 inch.
Then when you tie it in a nice knot, the fabric puckers slightly around the
stitch on the back and becomes even less noticable. As for straight lines, I
had some variance to the lines I created because I placed the knots by
measuring each block, not by griding out the whole thing. This was certainly
not noticable on the front probably because of the colors blended so well.
As for the back, if you had laid down a ruler there might have been some variance,
but again it wasn't noticable. I think the slight pucker from the tie helped
with that. Probably if you are doing something with a lot of people with
varying standards of exactitude you should mark it ahead of time with masking
tape ( I love the 1/4 inch stuff) or tailor's chalk. As for the actual knot, I
used double granny knots (I think that's what they're called), not knowing any
better. I'm sure there must be something better, I just don't know what it is...
Good luck and it sounds like such a nice project!
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