Am I in trouble??
 

I am sewing the back on a very large quilt 130x130, the top is all done.. now on to the backing.. after sewing all the pieces together.. I ended up with the backing about 1.5 inches larger on the top and bottom but the side came out the same as the quilt with maybe one inch larger.. will I have a hard time quilting this on my sweet sixteen doing FMQ,

Do you think I should try and sew a piece of a different fabric all around or just try and quilt it as is..I don't have anymore of the same fabric as the backing fabric...

So do I try and quilt it as is or make the backing bigger with sewing a small piece of different fabric all around and making the back a little bigger..what would you do.. Thanks

I always need at least 5” all the way around for backing/ batting . You need something to fasten to in order to load and quilt. Will your sweet sixteen accommodate a quilt that large? My HQ Avante only has 110” width on my frame. I’ve quilted a couple kings that were 120+” long, I didn’t have a lot of space for quilting design on the bottom border. Seems like you are going to have quite the challenge with this.
I would definitely add some fabric around it to attach to your bars and clamp to

Some possible questions to help you think of a solution to your dilemma.

Does the quilt include a border? Does the quilt need to be that size? Can it be a little smaller perhaps? Can you sew some muslin strips onto the quit to attach to the long arm?

I know nothing about LA quilting but had to add strips to a project so I could stipple on the EMB machine.

Hope you find the perfect solution!

If your Sweet 16 is on a table, you'll be OK. Just baste down the sides so you don't have any slippage, and with a quilt that size I'd also baste in thirds or fourths. But if on a frame, then baste some muslin on the backing. Use large stitches so you can take it off later.

Can you add side borders to the back? 1” is too tight even on a sit down.

How about piecing something in the middle? The more I quilt, the more I like
pieced backings. I've even inserted a Carpenter's Star in one just because.
Actually the real reason is that I don't have a lot of wall space and I really
wanted to make that star. LOL
Better have extra fabric all around that not enough.

There's no reason why you can't quilt that size on your Sweet 16.

However, the question to me is how are you going to baste it together, spray basting? pins? LA ? or?

For me, I need the backing to be more than the same size as the front when spray basting.
For me, that would be just too precise to be able to get it smack-dab and on the spot!!!
To say the least about the awkwardness of working with a quilt top that is that big.
For me, I would probably end up with the quilt top off the edge of the backing and batting .....

Likewise the same issues if pin basting.

As the others have suggested, if you were loading it into a LA to baste it together before quilting on your Sweet 16, you would need the extra fabric for loading it.

As you suggested, you can always add on some fake strips around the edge to give the size and remove later. I've done that and it works just fine, but there is still the challenge of getting the quilt centred onto the backing.

RhondaK's idea of sacrificing the border size could give you some extra wiggle room.
That is, if you are OK with the smaller outer border.
Though if it is for a king bed, you maybe need all that size, and then some for a good covering.
Plus, keep in mind that a quilt shrinks in size, just from the quilting. Again with washing.

For me, and for simplicity's sake, I would probably see if I could get some more of the same material as the backing, and make it larger over all. Better to be safe than sorry! ...... Or abandon that backing and get something else that I could make the size needed.

Good Luck!

Ok I had a piece of the same fabric as the backing that was 22 by 75 so I cut 4 pieces and sewed then end to end making the length I need, I did that two times.. then I sewed that piece 130x5 to one side and the top..I didn't want to use a different fabric as I didn't think I could get it centered...I hope this works..

Also I forgot to say I will be quilting this on my sweet sixteen machine sitting down and doing FMQ ..no frame..Thanks so much ladies..

What a challenge that whole quilt must have been. Best wishes as you do the quilting step!

Sounds like you got it figured out! You don’t need a whole bunch extra on a sit down machine, but you need some to hang onto when you are quilting near the edges for control. As you know, it also helps when you are layering your sandwich to have some wiggle room if you can’t see where your backing is to line it up. I’ve done some squeakers with charity quilts where the Quilter didn’t give me anymore than just enough backing and it all comes out just fine.