This post continues on the topic of my previous blog post in October.
Please take a moment to iron your backing. I do iron all backings before I start quilting. However, especially with the wide backings - it helps get the creases out if you iron the backing prior to dropping off the quilt and quilt backing to me. So I am not spending 20 minutes trying to iron hard creases from the backing fabric. I have never charged for the ironing process in my 9 years of business, and I hope to keep that way. I understand quilt tops and backing fabric creases in the transportation of the project from your house to mine, which is absolutely why I do iron before I start quilting - but a quick iron is what I aim for, not hours on end ironing quilt tops and backings.
Backing seams that are 1/2" instead of the normal 1/4" will hold up better in the long run durability wise. They will also lay flatter when I go to quilt your quilt.
Pressing that backing seam ... open or to one side? Just depends. If there is not a lot of straight line quilting ... or any stitch in the ditch quilting happening - I like seams pressed open. If I am stitching in the ditch...or even if you are quilting a project on your own at home - and you choose to stitch in the ditch, the best thing is pressing that seam to one side. If you press it open, and then stitch in the ditch, you are essentially quilting nothing - because that seam open, and your thread, if that seam pulls apart, shows the batting.
Selvages ... they are woven tighter than your fabric. I like to use the selvage to piece with, but I will use a 1" seam, and then cut the selvage out after it is sewn. I like to use the selvage to keep the fabric together even on the edges when seaming, but I don't want that tightness when I go to load the quilt to be quilted. The selvage will quilt differently then the rest of the quilt as well because of the different weave it has.
***Please note, after piecing the back together, I only trim the selvage in the quilt backing seam. I leave the selvage attached on the portion of the fabric that is not within a seam. That selvage helps me to load the backing straighter onto the leader. I can't tell you how many times, someone trims off a selvage from lets say the top and bottom of the quilt top backing, and trims it completely on a diagonal. Now, they thought they had 2-3", but now, when I go to straighten it up, it is less. So try not to cut the selvages away from the backing fabric, except from where the selvage is in the seam of the backing.
Your backing seam can go in either direction, horizontal or vertical. If you have enough fabric, and the fabric print is not directional - a horizontally pieced backing seam is preferred.
The reason I ask for horizontal pieced backings - is because vertical pieced backings do not always load straight onto a quilt machine/leaders. Do you see the major dips in the fabric? Check out the very top right of the first picture ... and then the middle bottom of the second picture - do you see that dip in the fabric? The vertical seams add up bulk in one area when I load the quilt, causing the other portions of the fabric to not roll as tightly. That is not a fun situation to have to modify for while quilting.
Please take a moment to iron your backing. I do iron all backings before I start quilting. However, especially with the wide backings - it helps get the creases out if you iron the backing prior to dropping off the quilt and quilt backing to me. So I am not spending 20 minutes trying to iron hard creases from the backing fabric. I have never charged for the ironing process in my 9 years of business, and I hope to keep that way. I understand quilt tops and backing fabric creases in the transportation of the project from your house to mine, which is absolutely why I do iron before I start quilting - but a quick iron is what I aim for, not hours on end ironing quilt tops and backings.
Backing seams that are 1/2" instead of the normal 1/4" will hold up better in the long run durability wise. They will also lay flatter when I go to quilt your quilt.
Pressing that backing seam ... open or to one side? Just depends. If there is not a lot of straight line quilting ... or any stitch in the ditch quilting happening - I like seams pressed open. If I am stitching in the ditch...or even if you are quilting a project on your own at home - and you choose to stitch in the ditch, the best thing is pressing that seam to one side. If you press it open, and then stitch in the ditch, you are essentially quilting nothing - because that seam open, and your thread, if that seam pulls apart, shows the batting.
Selvages ... they are woven tighter than your fabric. I like to use the selvage to piece with, but I will use a 1" seam, and then cut the selvage out after it is sewn. I like to use the selvage to keep the fabric together even on the edges when seaming, but I don't want that tightness when I go to load the quilt to be quilted. The selvage will quilt differently then the rest of the quilt as well because of the different weave it has.
***Please note, after piecing the back together, I only trim the selvage in the quilt backing seam. I leave the selvage attached on the portion of the fabric that is not within a seam. That selvage helps me to load the backing straighter onto the leader. I can't tell you how many times, someone trims off a selvage from lets say the top and bottom of the quilt top backing, and trims it completely on a diagonal. Now, they thought they had 2-3", but now, when I go to straighten it up, it is less. So try not to cut the selvages away from the backing fabric, except from where the selvage is in the seam of the backing.
Your backing seam can go in either direction, horizontal or vertical. If you have enough fabric, and the fabric print is not directional - a horizontally pieced backing seam is preferred.
The reason I ask for horizontal pieced backings - is because vertical pieced backings do not always load straight onto a quilt machine/leaders. Do you see the major dips in the fabric? Check out the very top right of the first picture ... and then the middle bottom of the second picture - do you see that dip in the fabric? The vertical seams add up bulk in one area when I load the quilt, causing the other portions of the fabric to not roll as tightly. That is not a fun situation to have to modify for while quilting.
Is your quilt Is your quilt 70" wide and 90" long? Well instead of doing a vertical seam, how about a piece of fabric, a smaller piece of fabric - like a belt in the center - and then another piece of fabric. So approximately - 41", 15", 41" so with the seams that comes to just about 95". Which is perfect! You can also piece into that 15" strip, like the picture below ***If that does not require me to center whatever you have pieced - because that is not easy to do.
I also do not accept anything appliquéd or embroidered onto the quilting backing. If you are trying to put a label on your quilt backing, it is helpful to have it pieced in by machine rather than appliquéd.
*Anything that you are piecing into the backing - please make sure it is far enough away from the edges. I can't guarantee that something will end up perfectly inline. The quilt could shift left or right. I always recommend putting anything you are trying to piece into the back of the quilt - 5 or more inches away from the edges. Having an element on the back be off by 1/4 or 1/2" is noticeable by the edges of the quilt ... but the further it is, inside of the quilt, the less noticeable 1/4" or 1/2" off will be.
*Anything that you are piecing into the backing - please make sure it is far enough away from the edges. I can't guarantee that something will end up perfectly inline. The quilt could shift left or right. I always recommend putting anything you are trying to piece into the back of the quilt - 5 or more inches away from the edges. Having an element on the back be off by 1/4 or 1/2" is noticeable by the edges of the quilt ... but the further it is, inside of the quilt, the less noticeable 1/4" or 1/2" off will be.
Let's talk about me centering your back. I do the best I can - and I aim within 1/2". Quilts and backings can shift ... I do my best to predict ... but I never know how stretchy a fabric will be.
That is why I never suggest just adding strips around the edge of your quilt backing to make it big enough for me. (For example if your quilt is 50" x 50"" - I would never recommend taking a 40" square of fabric and piecing approximately 7" borders all the way around it - that is SO hard to center, and most likely not be 100% centered, which again would bother both me and you) That being said, the same fabric would be less noticeable than different colored fabrics - but I still highly discourage it. Aka ... try to avoid "bordering" your backing fabric.
That is why I never suggest just adding strips around the edge of your quilt backing to make it big enough for me. (For example if your quilt is 50" x 50"" - I would never recommend taking a 40" square of fabric and piecing approximately 7" borders all the way around it - that is SO hard to center, and most likely not be 100% centered, which again would bother both me and you) That being said, the same fabric would be less noticeable than different colored fabrics - but I still highly discourage it. Aka ... try to avoid "bordering" your backing fabric.
That was a TON of information - if you have more specific questions, please feel free to contact me directly. [email protected] is the best way to contact me with specific questions.
~Ashley
~Ashley