Tag Archives: perfect quilt

Laurena Longarm Pieced Quilt Backs

5 steps to a pieced twin or queen size quilt back.

Perfect Quilt,

You’ve spent hours cutting, stitching, pressing, squaring and assembling fabric.

Hallelujah!

That quilt top

Is done.

Be sure to give the same loving attention to your back. If your top is larger than baby or lap size, chances are you’ll need to piece your back (although you can always choose the extra wide Sew Batik backs and be on your merry way :)).

Here are the 5 steps to making a quilt back from 42 – 44″ fabric. It doesn’t include the steps for matching large scale or directional fabric. I’ll do that in a future blog post.

1) Cut 2 pieces of fabric that are 6 – 10″ longer than the quilt top.

2) Match the pieces together at the selvedge edges. Sew one side with a 1″ – 1.5″ seam allowance (I know, after all of those quarter inch seam allowances, this looks enormous).

3) Press the seams to set the stitching.

4) Lining your ruler along the stitching line, trim to a ½” seam allowance with a rotary cutter. Now you’ve removed the selvedge edge. Selvedges are a stiffer weave and may shrink differently than the rest of your quilt fabric, even if you’ve already washed and pressed it. Also, why tempt the needle to skip as it works through seam allowances and a selvedge.

5) Press your seams to one side.

This quilt back results in a center seam in the middle of the back. There are those who believe that quilt backs shouldn’t have a center back seam. If you hang out with that group, then sew the selvedge edges together on both sides in Step 2. You’ll have an additional step of cutting the tube open to create the quilt back. Your quilt back will have 2 seams.

Quilt backs can be as much fun to piece as the top. Looking for ideas for piecing quilt backs? Want more? Check out Kathy Matthews’ adventures with quilt backs.

Now that you’ve pieced it, don’t forget to square your quilt back!

Squaring your Quilt Back

Perfect Quilt, ,

Longarm quilting doesn’t require basting the top, batting and backing together. It does require the fabric for your quilt back to be square. Here’s a  great video by Cindy Carey that covers the basics:

Our new handout for the Introduction to Longarm Quilting classes includes a link to this video, as well as the 10 steps to squaring your back.

 How to square a quilt back

  1. Press the backing fabric.
  2. Lining up the selvedge edges, fold the fabric in half, allowing it to hang from your fingertips as if it’s hanging on a clothes line. If your backing is large, ask someone to help you hold the length of the fabric.
  3. Look at the fold line dangling at the bottom edge. Is it wavy, gathered or curving? If so, use your fingertips to shimmy the selvedge edges to the left or right. You want the bottom fold to hang straight and flat.
  4. When the fabric doesn’t have any puckers, place pins every six inches at the top of the selvedge edges.
  5. Lay the folded backing fabric on a cutting mat and table. Smooth gently, keeping the fold line flat and bump free.
  6. Bring the fold line up to the selvedge edge (the back is now folded in quarters). Check that the fold line and selvedge edges are still pucker free and lying flat.
  7. Line up the bottom edge with a horizontal marked inch line on the cutting mat. Place a quilter’s ruler near one edge of the backing fabric, perpendicular to the horizontal lines of the cutting mat. If your back is folded in quarters and the ruler doesn’t extend past the selvedge and folded edges, either fold again or add a second ruler.
  8. Check that all layers of fabric protrude past the rulers.
  9. Using a rotary cutter, glide along the ruler edge to slice off excess fabric.
  10. Repeat steps 7 – 9 to square the opposite side.

At Laurena’s Longarm Quilting, we’re happy to make and square backs for you. Prices depend on the size of the back. Just email or call us for a quote.