NoraB

I've been taught to always sew the backing of the quilt so there is a horizontal seam going across the quilt. This is supposed to make it easier when the back is loaded on the quilt frame and prevents a build-up of fabric as you roll it. But, that seems to take the most amount of fabric than other options.

What are your experiences with the following options and any helpful hints?

- backing with horizontal seam

- backing with vertical seam

- backing with diagonal seam (John Flynn method in a previous post)

- pieced backing with left-over quilt top fabric

- purchased wide-backing

Thanks for any input you have.

dunster

It is definitely better to load a quilt with the backing seams horizontal on the longarm, if that is possible. It doesn't necessarily require more fabric, only that you be more creative when you're piecing the back or when you're loading the top. In many cases you can load the top sideways to avoid that vertical seam. I piece lots of backs with left-over fabrics from the top, and since there are many seams on the back it doesn't create that single vertical seam that creates a problem for the frame. I haven't tried John Flynn's method, but I don't like the idea of a diagonal seam because of the extra stretch on the bias.

feline fanatic

I have a dead bar on my longarm rack so I really don't have too many issues with vertical seams. I do it all the time on my own quilts and have gotten many client quilts with vertical seams. But that is me and I have run across many longarmers who do have issue with them. Additionally, I have found that if I roll the backing back and forth a few times when loading it alleviates the saggy areas caused by those vertical seams considerably. Same for when I advance as the quilt is completed and rolled on the takeup roller. Unfortunately those who have racks with no dead bar don't seem to have this capability and it creates massive problems for them.

I have had a lot of fun with pieced backings and making quilts that are practically reversible like this one:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...t-t258728.html
And this one:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...t-t209647.html

But again, my LA is a real workhorse and has no problems going through multiple seams and I have heard of other longarmers that won't touch them or really dislike them due to those issues.

The John Flynn diagonal back method is great but only works for certain size quilts. Once the quilt gets over a certain size you can't use this method.

I love wide backs for ease of loading and also to save me the time and trouble of piecing a backing. And really, in the long run, wide back fabrics are cheaper, by a long shot when you do the math as compared to standard 42 - 44" wide. fabric. When given a choice for loading, I definitely have a preference for the wide backs and strongly recommend them to my clients and I have a large stash of them for me too.

PaperPrincess

I also have a long arm with a dead bar, and if the backing is pieced, I prefer to have a horizontal seam, but I can deal with vertical. wide backings are great to work with and Connecting Threads and Marshall's Dry Goods both have nice reasonably priced selections. I have done some quilts with pieced backs. My machine has no problem sewing thru the layers, but the operator had some problems getting the backing loaded on the frame perfectly straight :-). I know about the Flynn method, but haven't tried it yet.

quiltingshorttimer

I prefer wide backs since once you get them straight there seems be less chance for problems. I don't have a dead bar on my frame so never use a vertical seam--otherwise I definitely battle sags and bags--so will load a quilt on the "side" (horizonally) if the back is pieced. I don't mind a pieced back, but have run into a problem on 2 customers that gave me backs that were pieced with larger pieces with a mix of wide and lenght of grain (and one was definitely very biased) that had some strange stretch.

mamagrande

What is a dead bar?

wesing

I agree that wide backing fabric is usually the most cost-effective. 108" is 2.5 times as wide as standard quilting fabric, but is rarely 2.5 times more expensive. My second choice is the diagonal seam, but as some else pointed out, that won't work in every quilt. Next choice is horizontal seam(s). Pieced backs can be good; the key is to offset the piecing instead of laying it out in a grid. I do not like vertical seams at all.

jjs56

Learned this from my longarm dealer: When the back has a horizontal seam, as your loading the backing onto the roll bar, periodically wrap your thumb and forefinger around the seam, grip tightly, and roll the seam toward the table. This tightens up the seam area of the back and I haven't noticed a difference between horizontal or vertical seams on the backing.

kristakz

If there is one long seam on the backing, I try to load the quilt with that running horizontally. Sometimes that means loading the quilt sideways, but that seldom is a problem (I don't have many directional pantographs, and I can custom quilt in just about any direction). If I'm forced to load a vertical seam (a 4-patch backing, for example), I just take extra care in rolling the backing onto the bar, to ensure the fabric is evenly distributed to whole way and doesn't sag at the end. I'll re-roll the backing several times to take care of this. Fortunately, I have not noticed issues on the take-up side in these cases (I do have a dead bar)