Originally Posted by thepolyparrot

I took my last (giant) quilt to a long-armer for him to baste it for me - it was larger than my 8' square basting table, even before I put the borders on it!

Well, the quilt was square and neatly pressed and laying flat on the back, so I didn't give him any issues with the top - but I had miscalculated the size of the backing (TWICE!!!!!) and it only 1-2" larger than the top on all sides and by the time he got done basting, one side was about 4" short.

After a phone consultation, we decided that he would leave that end "open" for me so that I could piece that edge of the backing fabric and sew it on. He did a WONDERFUL job of getting that quilt placed as squarely on the backing as a human being could do. It was expensive, but it was so worth it not to have to try to pin baste - I'd have gotten it on cock-eyed, sure's shootin'!

Watch out for that "simple" math - it can foul you up! The quilt came out just great, though and the piecing along one edge of the backing looks intentional.