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I'll admit that this topic was actually not part of Ruth's presentation at the String-A-Long Quilt Guild. Nonetheless, this topic came up today at lunch, so here is the brief on the topic.
When communicating with each other, we tend to assume that the other person knows some of the background to our quilts that is "hidden away in our minds". It is natural, then, to act as though the other person can "read your mind".
This is not the case. Therefore it is important that key pieces of information are communicated. This is especially true for communications between the longarmer and the piecer.
Now, I'm not talking about the history of the quilt, where the kit was bought, where you pieced it.... I'm talking about both of you communicating key information that affects the end product of your quilt. After all, the longarming is an extension of your artwork - your quilt!.
Here are some of my thoughts:
What are the size of the borders that you envision. - This may seem simplistic, but sometimes the edges of the border are not straight. I know this because for quite a while I was the "trimmer extraordinaire" for the shop.
The inside of the border is usually fine [unless there is "lettuce leaf"]. But, the outside quite often is another story. For example: the fabric may have been ripped instead of cut; some people feel that the inside of the border has to be straight for the quarter inch seam allowance while the outside...well,...who cares because it will be trimmed off anyway.
So, why does this impact the longarmer? It has to do with the placement of the border stitching and the trimming of the quilt. After all, with a ragged outer edge, determining the size of the border may be difficult because all the borders should be the same size....Or, should they? Many quilters have different sizes for the top and/or bottom, as could be the case with a bed quilt.
And, you do want to get a quilt back in the size you originally envisioned?
The corollary to this has to do with the placement of the stitching in custom borders. If the longarmer puts what will fit in the border width, it may be to big/ to little.
Likewise, let's say you want a 3" wide border on your quilt. Also, the longarmer's practice is to put the stitching at an 1/8" of the inner seam. The size on the outer edge that you would not stitch would be 3/8", or 1/8" to match the inner allowance, plus 1/4" for the binding. The result would be stitching that is 2 1/2" wide. Looking at it from the other side, if you are wanting a 3" border, you must have at least 3 1/4" border beyond that which is attached on the inner seam.
Telling the longarmer the size of the outer border can make things easier.
What type of binding are you going to do - When Ruth introduced me to quilting, I thought that all bindings were French bindings. You know, the 2 1/2" strip, folded in half, sewn to the front, then attached to the back with hand stitching. Then I ran into the real world with 2 3/4" strips, front to back, and back to front.
Each of these choices provides different parameters within which the longarmer works. For example, if you are using a given border, the longarmer is going to have to allow for that by making the stitching pattern narrower.
Likewise, if you want edge-to-edge [E2E] quilting and you want "front to back" binding then you will not want stitching to go onto your "binding area" for appearance sake. As a result, This may limit the stitching patters that can be used.
What will the quilt be used for - For this discussion I will group quilts into two categories: Specific Giving and General Distribution. Specific Giving could be for your children, grandchildren, etc. It can also be an event: wedding, graduation, etc. It can also be for a purpose, such as for judging in the fair.
Generally speaking, quilts made for men may limit the designs you choose. You might not want roses and flowers all over it. Similarly, a quilt for a couple may limit the designs, but not as much. Whereas a quilt for a woman has the ability to have flowers and hearts.
Quilts made for judging in a fair are a breed of their own. You have/create a quilting pattern. You select fabric that matches the theme, color, hue, and printing detail of the topic. You then select stitching designs that complement the design of the quilt, and/or the fabric, and/or the title of the quilt, and/or the title of the fair.
General Distribution can be for a multitude of reasons: you want to make a quilt, but you have no idea of to whom/when it will be given; maternity quilts; wounded warriors; general charity work; etc. All of these have one thing in common - you do not know the recipient.
As with Specific Giving quilts you can deduce what is appropriate. Quilts for maternity would have a more feminine theme. Along the same lines, quilts for warriors may call for patriotic or modern themes.
When it comes down to it, a good rule is to surmise who would be the recipient and create the quilt with the person in mind. I don't believe that making a quilt should be dependent upon using up your stash. I am surprised by the quilts made for warriors with pink and children's fabric and flowers being the stitching pattern.
What is the budget for the quilt - A piecer may have an idea for the quilt and, in fact, have a magazine with the beautiful, custom quilted marvel. Every block, even every piece of the block, has a new, exciting, and different design. They walk into the longarm studio with their California King quilt top, and the idea that they will be charged $100 for a longarm job worth $700 or more. What a bummer.
Likewise, we have spent up to 30 minutes discussing patterns and placement. Everyone was so excited! Only to find their budget was that of an E2E. What a letdown!
Set the budgetary expectations up front. That way you both can work on the same page and obtain better results.
What kinds of stitching designs do you [not] want - We once had a piecer come into our studio with a quilt. She put it down on the counter and said "do what ever you want with this 'butt-ugly' quilt." So, we did. Later, one of our longarmers heard her telling a friend at the guild that we put on clouds when she was wanting something geometric, and, she was not happy. That said, she felt good enough to enter that same "butt-ugly" quilt into the county fair.
So, let us know, at least generally, what you like or don't like. Do you hate leaf design? Do you love flowers? Are you a modern or geometric fan? You may not want to pick out the actual design(s), but you can give the longarmer a direction that will make both of you happy. As for us, we have over 5,000 stitching designs in our library. Knowing what part of the library to explore is helpful
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