Using Magic Sizing on top before marking
 

I finished my Series 7 Thangles BOM top. However, the top has quite a few issues. I believe the problems began with using too much steam when I was pressing. So I had some shrinkage in the blocks which I did not notice. Consequently, when it was time to do the sashing and cornerstones I had a lot of problems. I used a ton of pins and had to do some easing when sewing the rows together. There are some small pleats/puckers.

I have read that some people starch their backing before layering and quilting. Has anyone ever starched (though I will be using sizing) on the top, pressed, and then marked? Will a couple of layers of sizing have any beneficial effect on the top before I layer it? I know that nothing can take the pleats out (as they are sewn in) but will the sizing help to flatten it out a little more as I press it? There is also some puffiness where some points meet.

Also, if the backing is heavily starched to help keep puckers at bay is it harder to pool when quilting?

I starched the back once, but then saw that the back was just as wrinkled as the times that i did not starch...I starch the front as i go - paying attention so that i'm not stretching - that has been a large learning curve!!

My key is to baste my quilt sandwich really well to prevent puckers and movement when i quilt. I remove the basting as i go.l I will also add that i hand-quilt, so don't know how that works if someone is machine quilting...

Starching the backing will help eliminate puckers when you sandwich the quilt. I've tried it and it does work well. Once the quilt is sandwiched and pinned/basted, the starch won't give you any issues while fmq. I believe that as you puddle up the quilt in the harp of the machine, the starch flakes off - just like freshly starched clothes (the starch is nowhere to be found after a couple hours of wear).

I heavily starch my backings to prevent puckers while FMQing. That and spray starching eliminate the problem for me. Even heavy starch does not interfere with pooling the quilt during FMQ; the starch breaks down a little as you handle it.

Sharon Schamber has Youtube videos demonstrating how she resizes skewed blocks to true. Basically she wets the fabric with spray starch, pins it to shape, and irons. Although she is doing it on individual blocks, using spray sizing on your quilt top should help with some of the distortion issues, including helping to flatten areas that are a little poofed out.

Here are links to some of the Sharon Schamber videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-3RIWhBvcA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6aplw_tVZc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIjZqABo2NY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQkF02vpVuw

Thanks for the links! I wish I known about resizing the block earlier!