Do you have good tips for making the backing of your quilt?
 

I have made many quilts and I consider myself a quilter. That being said, I still struggle when it's time to sandwich the quilt together. The yardage needed is not a problem for the back of the quilt and the sandwiching is not too much of a problem either, but the cutting and sewing of the fabric for the back still is not fun for me. Do any of you have a few good tips to make this event something to look forward to? I'm going to sit back and read your comments and hopefully find inspiration in your words. Thank you in advance.

It's a lot easier and less expensive to buy wide backing. Some good prices at Marshall Dry Goods.

I certainly agree with you on that one. How about something on one with 2 or 3 seams?

I kinda discovered a way to cheat, with the backing. :thumbup: First of all, I use Elmer's School Glue, for basting the sandwich together; I use Warm & White or Warm & Natural for batting.

Let's see if I can explain what I did, without causing too much confusion. Okay, I first glue-basted the front to the batting. Then I marked the center of the front/batting, top and bottom. I measured out the backing length (fabric A), then matched center top & bottom, to batting side of sandwich. I glued this to within about an inch of the selvage. Then I took my fabric B, for the sides of the backing, cut the proper length and cut the fabric vertically, making two strips (one for each side). I placed one side of B, right sides together, on top of A, with the raw edge even with A's selvage. I safety-pinned B in place, to prevent any shifting (pinned on each side of future quilting line, as well as a bit farther away, to keep B out of the way). Then I flipped the sandwich over and did one vertical line of quilting, at a point to catch at least an inch or so in from the selvage/raw edges of A and B. I made this line where I'd planned to have a quilting line, anyway. Flipped the sandwich back over, unpinned, trimmed the seam, then pressed B over to the edge of the batting and glue-basted into place. Repeated with other half. :)

When sewing pieces of fabric together, always,always,always cut off the seam allowance! It will make puckers every time because it has no give to it. I was told when using all the same fabrics, it is better to have 2 equidistant seams rather than one seam down the middle even if the 2 outside pieces are a different width than the center piece.

I was told the same thing with the reasoning being it is easier to fold a quilt, less wear on the front of the quilt, if the backing seam is NOT neither horizontally nor vertically in the center.

I've found that the best way to make the process of making a backing enjoyable is to either make it very simple (one fabric, either a wide back or 2-3 lengths sewn together) or make it very complicated (lots of piecing so the back almost looks like another top). Anything in between becomes tedious, especially if I'm trying to make the simplest use of the scraps left over from the front.

Did you mean "always cut off the selvage" instead of "seam allowance"?

For backings I just use the wide muslin.

1/2 inch seams on the backing--makes life much easier--[tip given to me by an 84 year old hand quilter]