KalamaQuilts

It isn't squared.

When I've quilted my own, I find center on all four sides and tie on a long heavy piece of DMC crochet thread (you can use anything of course, string, yarn etc) I do this for both sides.

I lay out the reverse, taping so it is taut but never stretched.

I lay out the batt, smoothing etc and pull out those threads so they are clearly visible and coming straight out from the edge.
I fold the top in half, and align the top and bottom strings from both sides, then fold out the top and align the center sides. It doesn't take any extra time.

For the ones I send out I tell the quilters to do the best they can. And be satisifed with the results. I always chose the reverse side from a smaller flimsy and add a wide border so there is plenty of float. I don't expect them to be perfectly aligned. Life is hard and then we die there are a lot more things to worry about, particularly since I've had cancer twice in the last three years.

joyce888

I would do two seams going the width.

toverly

I love to make extra blocks and run them between the seams of the backing fabrics. Making a stripe of pattern between seams. It makes it look intentional.

lfletcher

I'm a longarmer and I think it is correct that most longarmers like the seam parallel to the rails. However, I've have had them come in all different ways and I don't seem to have too big of a problem. I like to piece my own backs the most economical way without consideration of which way the seams are.

Sewnoma

I do pieced backs all sorts of ways. I do my own quilting on my DSM so I have no concerns about longarmer needs.

Sometimes I don't even need to piece a back but feel like doing something creative. I like to take a wide back and slash it apart in a random direction, piece in a strip of contrasting fabric, then slice into it in another direction and piece in a different fabric. Mostly random, except trying to avoid creating lots of seams coming together in the same spot. Then if I'm feeling especially creative I'll patch in those same contrasting fabrics into the binding, and line them all up so that the strips of fabric seem to wrap all the way around the binding. Kind of a pain because I end up doing the binding in pieces to make it all line up, but I like the result.

Kwiltr

The string idea is brilliant! I'm also thinking that if you are taping the backing down, which is what I do, a piece of tape, placed on the floor or surface you've taped the back to, perpendicular to the quilt edge at the reference points would work as well. Thanks!

Prism99

Maureen,

Regarding flatness after seaming, are you cutting off the selvedges before sewing the seam? Selvedges will prevent a seam from lying flat.

If you are already cutting off selvedges, my best guess is that you are stretching the edges of the fabric as you sew. This is particularly noticeable on long seams because the slight stretching every few inches starts adding up. Some precautions you can take are (1) heavily starch the yardage before sewing together for backing; starch stabilizes fabric so it is less likely to stretch with handling, (2) use a .5" seam so you are not sewing as close to the cut edges; the cut edges are the least stable area of the fabric, (3) use a walking foot; a common problem without a walking foot is that the feed dogs tend to feed the bottom fabric faster than the top fabric, (4) pin the entire seam before starting to sew and hold the fabric up above the presser foot as you feed it to the machine; this will tend to equalize feeding of the top and bottom fabrics.

For the basting step, are you marking the centers of your top, bottom, and backing before you start? I would also measure the backing from the center mark out to the side seams, then measure the same distance from the center top of the batting and quilt top. Match these points and thread baste them together before loading onto the boards.

For additional safety, you might want to mark the batting all the way from top to bottom with a line that simulates where the backing seams should fall. A long metal T-square from the hardware store and a Sharpie permanent pen would help with this. You want to use permanent marker so the markings won't move into the fabric later. If you are nervous about using a permanent pen, try a blue quilt marking pen. Before layering, you could also mark the backing seam lines on the quilt top using blue painter's tape. Measure and mark from the center. As you baste onto the boards, with each roll you can adjust so that all the lines -- backing seam lines, batting marker lines, and blue painter's tape -- match up and the layers are lying flat.

Jan in VA

Here are some graphics I made of some ways to piece backings.

Jan in VA

luvstoquilt301

JAN---great pictures.

Shelbie

Thanks so much for all of your suggestions and Jan the diagrams really help. I finally got brave last night, slashed my piece in both directions and inserted matching printed fabric which increased the size and looks fine. It looks like a combination of Jan's diagram five and six. Now with all of your ideas, I have lots of options for the next one as I see more King sized quilts in my future.