Originally Posted by
Tartan
I have used Hobbs 80/20 fusible on a twin size and many smaller sizes. I love the stuff! I iron it on the old carpet in the basement. I found that trying to iron on the ironing lard was too difficult and I couldn't get it as smooth as I wanted. First I put on my knee pads from the $store. I lay out the backing on the old carpet with wrong side up. I smooth the batting with my hands on top of the backing. I then smooth out the top on top of the batt. I start in the middle of the quilt top and iron across it right and left. I press down to iron with a nice pressure before moving to the next spot. I then gradually iron across the next section right and left until I have ironed out to one end. I then start back in the middle of the top and iron the second half in the same manner.
I flip over the whole sandwich because the sandwich should be one piece now. I start the same press/iron method in the center of the back and iron outwards towards the edges. I find that by the time I get the backing ironed to the edge, I have to peal the edge back and re-iron because the fabric has advanced a little more backing towards the edge. Since the backing is what I can't see while FMQ I make sure it is perfect. I place a few safety pins along the edges in case I catch the sandwich while quilting and I don't want the edge to peel. I start FMQ in the center and work out. When I get the center third in the middle quilted, if needed I re-iron the back. I have only used the Hobbs so I can't say if the other brands are the same. Hope this gives you some ideas on how to proceed. Good luck.
do you prewash your fabrics? will starching the backing affect how well it sticks? I like to starch the backing pretty stiff so it helps prevent wrinkles.