Longarming: How Much Backing Fabric Do You Really Need? Most longarmers ask for a backing that is 8-10" larger than the quilt top in each direction, which provides 4-5" of excess backing all the way around the quilt. It must be 98" to be longarm quilted. We ask for 8" larger, which is outlined at Quilting Services Process. In your humble opinions, which I always respectfully condsider...How much bigger should your backing be than the quilted top before putting it together. This ensures even stitch quality all the way to the edges of your quilt. You specify the width of the fabric on the bolt along with the quilt's width and length. If your not using or sending it to a longarmer & your quilt top is nice & squared, I don't think you need more than an inch or 2 extra for the backing. We ask for 8" larger, which is outlined at Quilting Services Process. Then, return to center and sew from the center out in the opposite direction. Bigger is OK but it should not be smaller. That gives you plenty of area at the bottom for the backing fabric to roll around the take-up roller. Cut your quilt backing 2 inches larger on each side. Piece them together until they are longer than necessary for all four quilt edges. The chore of creating a quilt backing fabric is often not nearly as enticing as starting a new project. That is the edge of the actual quilt top. If you're not sure, check with your longarmer first. That gives us 2" of excess backing all the way around the quilt, providing helpful wiggle room when centering the quilt during basting. (8” total. Put Together the Quilt Top, Batting and Quilt Backing into a … To keep the edges neat I wrap the excess backing fabric around to the front and safety pin it in place to protect the edges. Should I piece it at the sides and make it larger, if so how Your backing was all ready to go for home quilting. Then, press seams. And there are ways you can provide the correct size backing without spending a lot of money. Layering and Basting the Quilt Sandwich As soon as you see the size, you should tell them either make the backing bigger, or pay so much more. This means there was 1-1/2″ of extra fabric on each side. Some time ago I received this top to quilt. Here at Stitched in Color Quilting Services, we're happy to help you use the backing you intended if at all possible. You don't want to add fabric in a way that will look awkward. If you've pre-washed your quilt top fabrics, then pre-wash your backing. That testing is done using the extra backing fabric and the batting that is in your quilt to best mimic the actual quilt conditions. Now tension needs to be added to the sides as well. What You Need To Know About Quilt Backing – Sew Quilt Ability The extra backing is needed because of the loading process, for the quilter to perform thread tension testing, and also to insure the machine doesn’t bump into the side clamps that are supporting your quilt. This is why it’s so important to provide the extra fabric when having your quilt longarmed. I'm wondering now if that is too short and it will bunch up too much when I do the "quilting" process. *BACK SIZE QUEEN or larger: Cut your backing and batting at least 4” wider and longer than your quilt top on EACH SIDE. It is much easier especially with a queen size quilt top. Place a pin to mark center. See how far that base extends on each side of the machine’s needle? By now I’ve quilted quite a few tops and have a few tricks up my sleeve to be able to handle most of the issues that come my way. That's the longarmer's job! So, for a top that is 60″ x 80″ the backing should be at minimum 68″ x 88″ (60″ + 4″ + 4″ = 68″ and 80″ + 4″ + 4″ = 88″) and ideally 72″ x 92″. Hitting those clamps can cause all kinds of problems, from ripped tops, to broken needles, and worse! API shut down by Instagram. Custom quilting usually involves some or mostly ruler work. It would have cost her much less to simply provide a backing that was large enough to begin with. When I tell my guild I have to have that much extra fabric to longarm, they say no thanks and find someone else. Eeek - stop! Trim excess edge strip fabric. The point is, the quilt backing should be as pretty as the quilt itself, so ... After squaring up your backing, measure it again to make sure that it is a total of 6-8 inches larger than the top, if you are going to have it long arm quilted. Piecing a long seam in this manner helps it attach nicely. See more ideas about backing a quilt, quilting techniques, quilting crafts. This costs the customer extra money because they are paying for my time. Another reason the extra fabric is needed is so that the tension can be tested before your quilt is quilted. I can understand this for machine quilting, but I don't understand how this is important for hand quilting, especially if you are you just going to cut it off later. So how do I work with this? I wanted to share this information with you so you can understand why your longarm quilter asks for extra fabric. Cannot get other user media. Letha Gunter says: November 18, 2017 at 4:29 pm I have always done it this way…saves so much time…I can even make the repeats match by shifting it to match. Finishing that quilt is going to be soooo rewarding. - … DOUBLE 78” x 87” 5 1/4 yds. Reply. For Quilts wider than 40" but narrower than 72" wide Note: Take the LENGTH of your quilt and double it + 18 inches . Great information. Unfortunately this scenario is something that happens quite often in my studio. No matter what, your backing MUST BE 4-6″ larger than your quilt top, on ALL sides. This will help these extra-long seams feed evenly. It gives you something to hold onto! You have stitched in the ditch between all of the blocks. If your backing needs to grow by just 4" in each direction, you can enlarge your backing with scrap yardage. If your table runner is 16" x 39" you'd cut the backing 20" x 43". A Quilt with a Lace Border, and Other Interesting Quilts. Many patterns have to be stitched off the edge of the quilt, onto the batting. Remember - your quilt back should be 2-4” larger than the quilt top in all four directions. I did a similar post with my machine, it helps to get the word out why we need that extra backing. I pin the sandwich together with saefty pins & then turn over the backing extended edge to the front & pin until I … Trim off the selvage of all backing fabrics. Thanks for sharing. As a rule, your backing fabric should be at least 2in larger than the size of your quilt top all the way around. A machine quilter will require a minimum of … Trim excess and press. How much larger should my backing and batting be than the quilt top? I keep muslin strips in my stash just for this purpose. For this project you will need 1 ¼ yards of fabric for the back. You prepared a backing for your quilt top, with plans to quilt it at home. I don’t quilt for money, just comfort quilts and my own. Example – 60” x 80” quilt top needs a back and batting that is 68” x 88.”) This is so helpful, Beth. Pin pieces right sides together at center. 3" gives you a little extra width to work with. There is about 4" of excess backing/batting to the left of the red basting stitch line. Let me show you. Backing Yardage Charts - Qltville.docx 12/12/2013 5:00 PM Pg 1 of 5 Backing Yardage Charts! When loading a quilt back onto a quilting frame, it is rolled onto two rollers – one at the top of the fabric and one at the bottom. When I pick out fabric for a quilt top I usually wait to buy backing fabric. Quilt Backing Tips and Techniques - Learn How to back your quilts You can adjust your strip size as necessary, of course. This is often the last layer of the quilt sandwich that a quilter makes. When the quilt top is centered on the backing fabric, you will have a 3-inch allowance on all sides. This allowance gives you room to properly align your quilt top, batting and backing. They need the extra wiggle room. Because it is such an easy fix by the customer I thought I would share with you what I’m talking about, and why it is important to provide your longarm quilter backing fabric that is a workable size. And then the quilt you spent hours creating, wanting the recipient to enjoy it for decades- perhaps it’s meant to be an heirloom quilt- will not live the life you had intended it to. A quilt backing is the bottom layer of a quilt. Notice the red basting stitch line. (black lines) We also stitch around the outside of the entire quilt, within the seam allowance, so that you won’t see it once it is bound. Thank you for sharing. by Beth | Jun 3, 2020 | Tips & Tutorials | 5 comments. To avoid this, you can buy extra-wide backing fabric in 60in, 90 inch, 108in and 116in widths, but it’s worth noting that the colour and print choices for these are usually more limited. I read on an Instagram account once, “I’m a longarm quilter, and my love language is a lot of extra backing”!!!”. Display only your media. The fix I use most often is to pin fabric to the sides of the backing and then clamp onto those fabric pieces. He or she will start by attaching the backing to the longarm rollers. p.s. The pieces I use are about 7″ square. If there is no extra backing then there is no room to test tension. Why so big, you ask? Size: you want your batting to be slightly larger than your quilt top (front) and slightly smaller than your quilt back. When I’m trying to use a ruler, if that base hits the side clamps then it messes up the ruler work. Quilt Size Dimensions Backing 2 1/2” Binding Assembly Diagram TWIN 63” x 87” 5 1/4 yds. If you've looked into longarm quilting services, you'll notice that backings must be bigger than you usually make them. Attach remaining edge strips, again sewing each long seam from the center out. When you turn the quilt around, this is the layer that you see. I’ve done quilt backing that way. (red lines) Next, trim the excess batting and backing from around your Quilt. (Same thing for avoiding wavy border syndrome!). Cut strips 3" wide. A quilt back should be larger than the top by several inches. - … Backstitch at the end to secure stitch line. Your backing should be at least 10″ larger than your quilt top (5″ per side) if you are planning on giving it to a longarm quilter to finish. Why do I need my backing and batting larger than quilt top? Here are some ideas to help you push on to make that quilt backing. What you need is more edge-grabbing fabric - fabric that will be trimmed away when quilting is complete. At the bottom and top of the quilt, the sewing machine can't reach very close to the roller bars, so we must have excess backing to allow us to space the quilt away from those obstacles. But there is one issue that I find myself faced with quite often that takes me a fair amount of time to correct. The backing is visible on the top roller bar. Sorry. I always enjoy reading posts that broaden my understanding of how things work. Let's talk this through. Now you can see how the clamps attach to the back, and how the quilt top butts up against the clamp. What Is The Best Width For Quilt Binding? You can sew those strips to the top/bottom/sides of your backing fabric. This is my first time making a quilt. This should be roughly 42″ square. Here's the thing - your backing IS large enough as far as the finished quilt is concerned. So if your quilt top measures 50″ x 50″, your backing must be at least 58″ x 58″. So now I have to have clearance on the sides for the ruler base that fits on my machine. It is not something you should be fighting as your quilting time (and machine) are valuable. Strips of muslin or scraps can be basted to the sides to enlarge backing if needed. If you haven't prewashed your fabric you may want to do a bleed test. I had to do some backing prep to even be able to load the back. We're working with a large machine head that may be computerized and must be sure to have enough room for the pattern to  stitch out without hitting those clips. Match the edge strip center to the quilt back center. That means if your quilt top is 60" x 70" then the backing is 68" x 78". So, for a baby quilt the customer ended up paying me an extra $25 or so. You're also happy to have that extra 2" all the way around when you're quilting at the edges of the quilt. Now you've decided to send it out for longarm quilting, but the backing is slightly too small. 3/4 yd. This four-way tension ensures that puckers and tucks won’t be quilted into the back. It may also be used to determine how much batting you need for your quilt. It is a scrap quilt with many small squares being used as a quilt back. This calculator determines how much yardage from a bolt of fabric is needed to make a backing for a quilt. The backing should be 8" larger in each direction for longarm machine quilting. *IMPORTANT*: If the quilt WIDTH is over 72" WIDE you must use the Backing for Large Quilts Chart at the Quilt Size and Backing Yardage Chart Backing Fabric should be 3” all around larger than quilt top. First, why does longarm quilting require a bigger backing? In other words the backing should be the biggest. I charge $5 per seam for this service, plus the cost of the muslin. Your backing was all ready to go for home quilting. A human needs about 2" to hold onto when quilting at the edges of a quilt. I have an top 81" wide and I cut my material last night 84" for the backing. Side tension is achieved by adding clamps to each side. How to Piece a Quilt Backing to Finish Your Quilt | Craftsy But if my client has asked for custom quilting then it can still be an issue. For example, you have a 90" square quilt and a 94" square backing. Your backing and batting should be at least 3" larger on each side than your quilt top. But wait! When a customer asks me what size backing they need, I always ask for the back to be 4-6″ inches larger than the top on all sides. So, buy a new backing? This is a real problem to try to quilt, because to get the machine needle to the edge of the quilt top, the machine casing will bump against that clamp. Everything I have read says to cut the backing of my quilt at least 3" bigger all around. Always add 8" to both the length and width measurements so you have an extra 4" of fabric all around. I recently quilted a top for someone and the backing they provided was barely 1/2″ larger on all four sides. To do that, I sewed a 5″ strip of muslin to all four sides of the back. Because I use so many different thread brands and weights, both on top and in the bobbin, I am always testing and adjusting the tension. They will be trimmed off after your top is quilted and you can reuse them for the next quilt. Backstitch when you join strips so that these seams won't pull open when the quilt is suspended for longarm quilting. Cut your cotton batting the same. This backing did not need an equal amount added on each side. Be sure to add fabric on all four sides of the quilt so that the real quilt backing remains centered. As a longarm quilter for hire I sometimes have to work through quilting challenges, such as tops that aren’t square or borders that are too big. At the end, your edge strips will definitely get trimmed away! If you have a walking foot, use it when attaching your edge strips to the quilt back. Your backing fabric should be 6 inches longer and wider than your finished queen quilt top. Now let’s talk backs. Some longarmers may not appreciate this solution as it requires them to be thoughtful about centering the quilt during the basting process. How To Figure Yardage For Quilt Backing – Missouri Star Blog The issue I’m talking about is backing that is not the appropriate size. What to do? The cream fabric is the backing, and it was about 3″ wider than the quilt top. If you are doing the quilting yourself, you should be safe with 4″ extra per quilt side. May 7, 2016 - Explore Alisa Ferguson Maskus's board "Backing A Quilt", followed by 328 people on Pinterest. When you send a quilt to be longarm quilted, you don't have to baste the quilt. This Baptist fan extends a good 2" beyond the edge of the quilt top, for example. 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