I can't get them to lay flat either I did a quick one with a panel for a birthday, turned out pretty good but it was small I have never tried that on a quilt bigger then a baby size. Good luck and I would love to see it finished. What size is it? Look at a tutorial too I have seen one from E Burns but then she makes everything look easy lol I would love to see some of her OOPS quilts just to know it happens to everyone!!