I never understood why all the math needed to make the diagonal backing. Cut a length of yardage longer then the quilt top, cut corner to corner on the bias, pull one piece to line up with the other piece and sew them together. I can eyeball the width and length needed to be bigger then the quilt top.

Ok people I didn’t know this was a thing! I also didn’t know why you would do this? But for backing a quilt!! Brilliant! Never to old to teach a old dog new tricks. Thanks for sharing.

Onebyone - I understand what you are staying, but when I go to the diagonal method I am usually desperaate and I have backing pieces that are close to the right size but are small so I do the calculations (I now use one of the online calculators but have been doing this so long that I started when I had to calculate using the formula by hand). By calculating, I can figure out which piece to use that will waste the least amount of fabric.

In order to minimize the bias stretchhing, I starch the fabric when I iron it to make it more stable.

This is very timely! I finished a chandelier quilt top yesterday and the fabric I have to back it with isn't quite big enough. I printed the worksheet and I'm thinking I do have enough backing fabric after all. :D Yay!

I have also used this method several times and had no trouble with it. Mostly for baby quilts because they seem to end up about 45-48” wide, but also for a couple of larger quilts. I love that I can use a single backing fabric and have almost no waste/leftover fabric when I’m done.

It doesn’t cause any trouble on the long arm frame because the seam is distributed evenly across the width of the quilt, so there is no buildup of fabric on the take up rail because of the seam.

I use Pfaff machines with IDT, so I rarely pin, but diagonal backs are the biggest exception and I do pin them. I also starch before cutting. To help with the long cut I usually fold my fabric perpendicular to the diagonal fold at least once. It just helps manage the bulk.

@SuzSLO I love how you’ve matched the print on your truck fabric! I’ve been tempted to try that but never been brave enough. Maybe next time!

I can’t say enough good about this method and recommend it often. It saves me from having a bunch of long leftover strips in my scrap bin and let’s me use smaller cuts that I have in stash for quilt backs. The best place to test it out is on a baby quilt.

One of my diagonal backs is here, along with some links. The links may be inactive now. https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f...k-t130313.html

Thank you for posting the Facebook page. The visual was fantastic and easy to understand. Now I know how to do it.