HOW TO MAKE TIED COMFORTERS AND QUILTS

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Next, spread the blanket filler or batting evenly over the taut cloth. Be sure there are no lumps.

The top is then laid over the filler and pinned to the frame just as the backing was. Adjust the C-clamps that hold your frame together at the corners so that the quilt is taut but not strained . . . and you're ready to tie.

TYING

Ties should be evenly spaced and no more than two inches apart. They can be arranged in rows or staggered:

If the quilt top has a geometric or regular pattern, let the Print on the fabric space your ties for you. For example, with one-inch checked gingham you'd want a knot in the middle—or at the corner—of every other square. Use a grid to space the ties on a scattered pattern. This guide can be made of a 9" X 12" Piece of cardboard with holes punched in it at the proper intervals. Lay the grid on the material and mark the place for each fastening with a pencil, as shown in one of the photos that accompany this article.

Either yarn or crochet cotton can be used for the tying. Choose the shortest needle you can find that has a big enough eye and thread it with a three-foot length of yarn or string. This should be pulled through the eye until the ends are even, to create a double strand, but should not be knotted. If possible, wear a thimble while working.

Tying is always done from the top of the quilt, with one hand underneath to make sure the needle goes through all thicknesses. This is very important. If the thread or yarn doesn't go through all the way so that it shows on the back, you must take it out and put it in again. When in doubt, crawl under the quilt and look! (Sometimes, if the fabric is heavy or has a firm finish, the needle sticks fast in the cloth sandwich and has to be pulled through with pliers.)

As you work from the top, take as small a stitch as possible down and back up through all layers of cloth at the first marker in one of the end rows. Leave a two-inch tail of thread, take a second stitch over the first, tie a square knot and pull it tight. Don't cut the thread! just go on to the next mark and repeat the process until all the yarn on the needle is used.

At that point go back and snip the thread in two halfway between each pair of ties. Leave the tails on, and try to keep them all the same length. If you spaced the fastenings evenly and made the breaks midway between, you shouldn't have to do any trimming. And, believe me, it's much faster to snip the connections between a whole line of knots than to do so after you finish each one.

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