OK..I tried to do an art quilt..got excited, got creative, got excited, thought I was Degas and Rembrant all in one..Thought i would enter it in a show..then I was done, I looked at the back..looks like it fell on a sticky floor at a messy thread factory..threads hanging, birds nests all over, scribbling meanders that were suppose to be circles..but are pointy thingys.....In my defense the front is wondeful an egret flying over wetland sunset...what do i do..can I frame it. can I put a false back on it?? can I put big squares or circles on the back with egrets stitched on..?? If anyone sees the back Ill be tossed out of the quilt world and forever shamed. help... Any ideas..Dottie

dottie, Framing it sounds like the best way to go unless it is to big? It sounds lovely and I can't wait to see it( the front that is).

i'd put a back over it and go on as usual.

I would say that if you are serious about entering it in a contest for art quilts, then quilt a new back however you want that back to look, and attach it to your quilt,hiding the back you have now. You will need to work out the problem of the sides - will you birth it? or take off the binding and replace it? Since it is an art quilt I can't think that the fact the quilting on the top and back do not match will be anything but a creative, artful decision on your part. however, you might want to query the entry rules of the contest you plan to enter. You could have a reversible quilt. Scenic one side, whole cloth trapunto on the other. Good luck!!

THANK YOU FOR REPLY...
Its about 36" by 38"..Do you know if anyone on this board has ever framed a quilt..I did a search on hiding the back and found nothing...I am new to this board it is great..Im from Michigan..Dottiej

You can still use the quilt and enter it in a non judged show. Lots of guilds hold them.

But also use this quilt as a valuable lesson to find out what went wrong on the back and to check your back on the next one. Birds nests are normally caused by not bringing your bobbin thread to the top and holding it when you first start quilting.

Pointy things on the back that are nice rounded circles on the front sound like eyelashing to me, which means you have some tension issues and are probably going a bit too fast. So use these valuable lessons to make your next art quilt the masterpiece you know you are capable of doing that looks wonderful on the front AND the back. ;-)

Welcome to QB Dottiej!

My husband framed an art quilt for me. He made a flat frame the size I wanted and then we stapled the quilt to it. He then made attached another flat frame on top of that so the quilt is securely and evenly held all the way around. I think for one your size you would need some cross pieces on the back if you used a similar method.

I hope we hear about some other ways, too.

Thank you..I dont have a binding on it yet,,a double back sounds neat...I can make 3 or four and practice my quilting.....I do acrylic painting also..and have never been afraid of happy accidents..I can make it look intentional..however the back of this quilt is no happy accident..its a total wipeout..Dottiej

Are you putting into a judged show or is it for your own enjoyment? Will it be a wall hanging?

I'd be tempted to put a false back on it to hide the back. Framing it is expensive.

Thank you all for replys..sending good thoughts to all..Dottie

If you put a false back on it like you mentioned, no one will ever know what's underneath. :thumbup: I'm looking forward to seeing a picture of your masterpiece. BTW -Welcome from another Michigander

Thanks..Sounds good ..Do you know anyone who has done a false back...Dottiej

I helped out at the county fair last year and there were several wall hangings that had false backs. the ones I remember were pillow case style.

The judges didn't like them because they couldn't see the quilting, but didn't really affect the judging that much, at least I don't think it did.

Don't you know the "quilt police" have X-Ray eyes.
Having said that. Put another back on it. I recently saw a quilt that had a lot of decorative quilting on it - scenes etc in varrigated thread. then a backing had been added and then the background had been quilted. It didn't qualify because the rules indicated that all the quiting should have showed on the back. So read the rules. However, it is done and accepted.

I did mine on muslin and then put a backing on just before I did the final quilting. I never thought of that part as false or a cover. It was part of the plan.

You could say it's modern art and if the judges can't see that you are expressing yourself then they are just not true artists like you.

Since you paint why not paint a matching back & make it reversable.

why couldn't u use a false back but do stitch lines on it to memic or to highlight the quilting on the front?

If the eyelashing and birds nest are only in a few randow places a few patches of egrets might be a nice variety to it......

Welcome from Minnesota

This gave me an idea that if a ever tried something like this I would finish the front and then attach it to a artist canvas. On the back I would maybe do something like a collage? colorful blend? whatever on the back. I would love to see a picture.

I agree, put another back on it.

Lyric Kinard has several tutorials on mounting and framing art quilts. http://www.lyrickinard.com/tutorials.html
Her work is much smaller than yours, but there's no reason the same process wouldn't work for you. I've used several of them and they look great.

Whether to skip the show or replace the back would depend on the show rules, but the piece would certainly be worth mounting for your own enjoyment. Sounds like the front came out beautifully. Welcome from an ex-Michigander. ;)

Some people that do alot of thread painting on quilts, put the top on the batt and stitch all the details. They put the back on later and just outline stitch the main designs. You don't even have to be careful of how far the quilting on the back is because the batting is anchored well with the thread painting. I think you could put a false back on your quilt, outline quilt the main parts to the front and put the binding on.

feline fanatic wow, thank you for the valuable infromation. I love it when you guys share your knowledge with us. I know now what to look for . :thumbup:

This happened at a quilt show of ours -- someone quilted the top and batting only with the intricate quilting, then added a back and did STID so the next show had the rule that ALL quilting had to show on the back.

If you want to frame it - you could get stretchers as for painting canvas, cover them with a thin layer of batting, stretch and staple. The idea of a second back is good too.

I think I would cover the back just in case the police show up. But if you dont have much nosey company, hang it and forget it!

I once had the same problem, so I put another back over the messy one. Then I outlined quilted around the design area. Quilt police didn't even notice it. Final step, binding it.

i'd do a new backing to cover up the stitch work on the back.

this is more common then you know with art quilts that will be in shows or that are going to be sold.

I personally have not framed a quilt but my MIL did a wall hanging that I made for her, about the same dimensions as yours. Of course, she didn't do it herself. She took it to Michaels to have it done.

First wallhanging I made FMQ was exactly like yours.....sewing with metallics..what a mess.
I put a false back on it and I don't feel bad about it at all. Granted I have not entered it in a show.
What I learned....sewers aid on my top and bottom thread and to slow down. FMQ is much better now.

Framing something that big would be very, very expensive (I work in the frame shop at a very-busy Michaels). One reason the framing is so expensive is that the framer SEWS the quilt to a mat that serves as the mounting board. You could do this part yourself - in and out of the same hole with transparent thread (poke holes first with a T-Pin and sew one stitch per inch around the outside. You will also have to take several stitches in the middle to keep it flat) Now it's mounted, saving about 100 dollars. If you decide to put no glass on it, the framing will be quite affordable.

WOW! Dottij can't use this idea, but this is a great idea and i will store this in the back of my mind. I never thought of doing thread painting with just the batting underneith and then backing and outlining.

All the ideas here were really interesting! Good luck Dottij!

Thanks for this great idea also. I learn so much from all you gals!

Just attach a sleeve to the top of the back and hang it on the wall. The wall won't care if there are birds nests back there. :roll: :lol:

My DH has framed several of my wall size quilts, without using glass. They've held up just fine. Sorry the pic isn't better.

Hang it on your wall and if the quilt police come to inspect, file a traspass charge against them with us!

i`ve framed quilts but quited them first just like a regular quilt.

When my husband was still living, he would make me a frame to fit each wall quilt. They really looked great. Regretfully I can no longer do this. I have saved the frames though, in hopes that I will make other quilts that will fit them. Since then, I have made only bed quilts. Good luck with your dilema.

Framing a quilt actuslly increases the value of it.