Originally Posted by AlwaysQuilting
I don't use the strips on the back.
After I quilt all the sections of the quilt I lay two of them right sides together, pin the backing and batting out of the way, and sew just the top fabrics together using 1/4". Then I open the quilt flat (backing side up), trim the batting (if needed) so it lays flat inside the seam area, then overlap one section of backing fabric with the other, turning the raw edge of the top one under. Then I sew a wavy stitch down it.
I've been doing it this way for ages because I didn't like the sound of having all those strips down the back. But her way sounds like a lot less fussin' than mine. :-)
Your method is appealing in that I'm quilting this king-size behemoth :o) with stitch-in-the-ditch. With the seam cover method, I'd need to handstitch the seam covers to the backing in order to avoid out-of-place extra seams that'd show on the solid-color fabric front.
By using your method, I could achieve final closure on the backing by doing SID along the turned-under backing "seam" by machine, same as the rest of the quilting, although I'd still do enough handstitching along that closure to ensure it'd stay in place when I anchored it with SID.
Thanks! Everyone's input is always so helpful & appreciated.