Quilt Judging Comments

by Steffani McChesney

• Batting must fill binding.
• Corners should be 90-degree angles.
• Edges should lie flat and smooth. No ripples. Quilting to the edge of the quilt should solve this problem.
• Most quilts could benefit by adding more quilting. Especially in wall hangings, which need lots of quilting for support.
• Judges looked at the effects of techniques used to see if they would stand the test of time.
• Wanted the quilt to “tell a story,” meaning the title, the choice of fabric and the quilting assisted each other to make a complete idea of what the quilt was about.
• These judges liked to see a quilt that is historically accurate. For example, if you use 1860s reproduction fabric you should use quilt motifs from that same period.
• Always checked to see that appliqué was securely sewn down around the edges.
• They even smelled the quilt. One quilt had been washed in lavender fabric softener, which was still very strong. There should be no odor in the quilt.
• One of our judges is allergic to cats. She had to step outside briefly because a lot of the quilts had cat hair and dander on them. Quilts should be brushed as free of pet hair as possible. I know it’s impossible to keep your cats completely away from your quilts (I have two, one who likes to lie on the quilt as I try to machine quilt it) but do try.
• Liked a lot of contrast and good use of print scale to enhance the quilt design.
• Were very conscious of how the quilting enhanced the piecework and appliqué. Some quilts were not considered for a ribbon based on whether the quilting enhanced the design or not.
• They liked invisible appliqué stitches but were not overly concerned about really small quilting stitches. There were several “big stitch” quilts in the judging that the judges liked because the large quilting stitches enhanced the folk art look of the quilt.
• All marking on quilts should be removed. Quilts were marked down for visible quilting markings.
• All quilts should lie flat.
• Edges, border seams and sashing should be straight. No waviness.
• Straight quilting lines, such as grid lines, should be straight.
• Did not like points that were not sharp. Especially when the binding cut off points along the edge of the quilt.
• Liked good corners in patchwork.
• Seemed to prefer thin binding (one quarter inch or less) to wider binding.
• Binding should be mitered and sewn closed.
• Equal amounts of quilting over entire surface of quilt.