Originally Posted by
Pinkiris
Holice-- Try as I might, I can't make sense of the John Flynn method! Maybe you could clue me in to what I'm missing? Seem like it makes no sense to cut fabric diagonally, sew it back together and it's LARGER??? I don't get it...
Here goes -- if you make a paper sample it may help you get the picture.
1. Get a sheet of paper (8 1/2 x 11 works great).
2. Fold it across the diagonal and cut on the fold.
3. Now, lay the pieces on a flat surface cut edges together and slide the right side toward you. See how the overall width of the paper gets wider? This is what happens with the fabric back -- after you make the cut you move the fabric up or down until the piece is wide enough and long enough for the back.
For me it is great because it saves fabric (if you are doing a big quilt and the fat back is not quite big enough, this still works. The other thing I like is that the diagonal does not usually match any seams -- I hate it when the back seam winds up an exact match for one of my long pieced seams. (Since I normally use my home machine I don't have the problem with the roller.)
There is a formula out there that allows you to calculate the fabric you need:
http://www.multi-patch.com/html/fabric_calc.php