Quilt police question....
 

Is there any rule that says the backing has to be vertical? I have a small quilt that is longer vertically than horizontally. if I use some fabric I already have and use it horizontally, it will fit with one seam. If I use it vertically, it will require some piecing or buying something else for the backing.

Are there any practical reason that backings are always vertical?

bkay

Short answer is no, it does not have to be vertical. Unless you plan on entering it in a show there are no quilt police.

I thought it had to do with the length of fabric being less stretchy than the width of fabric. But I also have read that longarmers prefer a horizontal backing for some reason.

Many of the patterns I have used have basic finishing information, and they mostly show horizontal backings, because it takes less fabric. So I would say don't worry about it.

bkay, as you know I am not a quilter, but from my understanding the lengthwise (vertical) grain is more stable. In other words the crosswise (horizontal) grain has a little bit of stretch, but not much on a woven fabric. My thinking is that on a small quilt, is that it should not matter. There could be a possibility of the material sagging a bit if it is to be hung, but for lap quilt or such, I doubt that it would be much of a problem. My first link that confirmed that the cross grain had a little more stretch was https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/fabr...uilter-2821312 It show taking a square and stretch different directions. Here is another page https://superlabelstore.com/blog/quilt-backing-fabrics/ and about half way down the page it states Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
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Longarmers prefer horizontal seams because a vertical seam has more thickness at the seam than the rest of the backing, and that spot will get thicker and more distorted with every roll. A horizontal seam will cause that same bump all the way across the quilt and only on one roll. It won't distort further.

And honestly, in the grand scheme of things, do it the way that makes the most sense to you and the most economical. No quilt police here.

I make most of my backs horizontal for the simple reason that it uses less fabric. I've never had a problem. Do what works for you.

The explaniation given by GingerK makes a lot of sense to me. I'd never considered the amount of 'bumps" a vertical seam would give to a quilt. Thanks for making this clear to this not so young brain!

The only comment I have :

And whether it really makes any difference or not, I really don't know -

I would have all the pieces be crosswise or lengthwise - not mix directions.

For longarmers, definitely. for others it doesnt' matter much at all.

Longarmers can usually turn the quilt sideways on the frame if the backing is pieced vertically, as long as the quilting design can be pieced that way.

Since quilting provides stability, the direction of the fabric, front or back, really shouldn't matter at all.