“I’ll Never Have MY Quilt Judged Because………

As a quilt show judge, I hear comments from quilter friends like this frequently. You can fill in the blank with your own reason: “I don’t want to compete.” “I don’t want anyone to tell ME what I’m doing wrong.” “I had a quilt judged once, and the comments from the judge were so hurtful that I’m never going to put myself through that again.” “Who is SHE/HE to tell me how to quilt?”

In answer to these comments: A quilt judge who is properly trained and professional can give you insight into ways you could increase the beauty of your quilt….not that it isn’t beautiful now, because it is! … but with a little tip here or technique there, you would become a better quilter and be happier with your work. Judges are trained in what to look for when judging a quilt and how to state negatives in positive ways. There are many quilters out there in “quiltdom” who are doing gorgeous work but do not receive the accolades they deserve simply because they have not submitted a quilt for judging.

You’ve heard the phrase, “You can’t see the forest for the trees”? Many times we quilters are so close to our work that we cannot tell what’s wrong with the quilt, but we know it isn’t quite as good as it could be: why it doesn’t lie flat, why we have those puckers in the center, how to start and stop when machine quilting so we don’t have thread lumps, why the design and colors that we chose sound as if they would be perfect, and yet the quilt lacks something. A good quilt judge is able to analyze the quilt from workmanship and design standpoints and offer constructive ideas to help you improve your work.

I hope you are considering having your quilt judged. Judging should be a positive experience, not a negative attack. Any judge worth her salt will be able to "state a negative in a positive way." There are many ways to word comments which will be helpful rather than hurtful to the quiltmaker.

So what does a judge look for? Design, technique, workmanship, skill level shown by the quilter, creativity, overall effect -- to give a general overview. Judges also look at the consistency of the stitches in a hand-stitched item; the joining of the sections in a pieced item (do the points meet?); the puckers (or hopefully the lack thereof) in either the top or the back; neatness of machine stitching, especially in stops and starts.

If you are entering a quilt in a show, the very first thing you must do before dropping your quilt off at the show is make certain the quilt is clean. It should be free of pet hairs or any other item foreign to the quilt. Also, it should be free of odors, i.e., tobacco smoke or a musty smell. Also, be certain you have entered your quilt in the appropriate category as defined by the show sponsors.

In planning your quilt in the beginning, whether it will be an original design or from a pattern, study the overall effect: use of color, use of negative space, use of texture-type fabrics. Ask yourself, do my selections in these areas give me a quilt which is gently pleasing or a knockout; a wild design or a lovely traditional overall feel. Whichever effect this quilt has, is it the effect you wanted?

Judges must put aside their own personal preferences while they are judging a show. The fact that they love two-color quilts or scrap quilts, for example, should not enter into their judging decisions in any way. Every judge, just as every quilter, has her own particular preferences in quilts -- but that should never be stated nor considered in judging.

In making the quilt, extra care should be taken to see that all the points match the way they are designed to match. In machine piecing, be careful with your measurements and putting the pieces together. Do the stops and starts of your machine stitching detract?

If your quilt is appliqued, are the stitches invisible (or nearly so) and are the edges turned under properly? When you are attaching your binding, are your corners neatly turned, and are your hand stitches neatly done? Does the machine stitching on the other side of the quilt show through? Does the batting fill the binding? It should.

These are just some of the things a judge looks for when deciding which quilt is the prize winner. Usually the final decision is not based only on one little thing, but rather on the overall effect of the quilt. Judges are not there to remake the quilt, but simply to give encouragement and lead the quilter to resources or techniques which might make for a more pleasing quilt in the future.

The comments above are mainly directed toward traditional quiltmaking. Wearable art and art quilts have different criteria in some cases -- the design elements are of prime importance in art quilts, while workmanship does not necessarily need to be as exacting. Creating an art quilt, however, should not be used as an excuse for shoddy workmanship.

There are different types of judging, also, and I have been discussing the elimination method, which is commonly used in the U.S. There is also the point system, which is typically used with junior items at the county fair level. But that is a whole other topic -- for some other time. Do consider having your quilt judged; you might learn something and your quilt just may be a winner!

Marilyn began judging in the 1970s, starting as a parade and marching band judge, and went on to judge essays, scholarship applications, crafts, needlework, creative writing, musical performances and musical theater. She has concentrated on judging quilt shows since 1997, and has now now judged more than 500 county fairs, guild shows and regional quilt shows, as well as serving as the Judging Committee Chair for her guild for four years, and currently serves as Head Judge for the California State Fair.

She is the recipient of the Blue Ribbon Award presented by the Western Fairs Association, "in recognition and appreciation of dedicated support to the California State Fair."