I tried it and it works! I finished a top, pictures to come later, and of course, only one fabric on my stash will do for the backing. I am probably wrong, but will not admit to that. I need a backing that is 53 x 53, but only had 2 yards of the fabric. I didn't want to cut and sew back in a weird shape, so I searched for his method. I took the two yards and made a back 55 x 55 with only one diagonal seam. Loved it. For sure will use it again.

Where did you find his method for backing? Was it in a book?

http://www.flynnquilt.com/workshop/FreeLessons/


Scroll down to diagonal quilt back.

Thanks Maride,
I never would have thought of that! :)

I have used this method and it is great.

For some reason, I cannot picture what you are talking about. There is no diagram in his instructions....mental block I guess.

Somewhere there is a video but I could not find it. Maybe some here has it bookmarked.

It helps a lot if you pracice on paper first. I could not wrap my head around it at first. LOL

Glad it worked for you! I used it once.

John Flynn's engineering skills sure have come in handy :D:D:D

I didn't see a diagram until I clicked the link to print this article then - walla - a diagram! Looks like a great idea!

I see diagram and words, still confused. Last paragraph: "Stack the two lengths of fabric one on top of the other, both face up.", since it's a single piece of fabric, how can you get the lengths on top of each other, both facing up? I can get them on top of each other with 1 up, 1 down, but not both going one way...

I see the diagram and his "simple formula", but I still don't get it. Would love to see a photo tutorial if someone has one!

Try this! Get a sheet of paper, say 8 1/2 X 11.
Draw a diagonal line from the top left hand corner to the bottom right hand corner.
Cut on the line.
Now take the left side of the paper and move it upwards about 2 inches.
Take the right side of the paper and move it downwards, and then place the 2 pieces next to each other.
You will see a small triangle on the top left and bottom right.
Cut these triangles off.
You will note that now the paper is wider.

The same with hold true for making your fabric wider. I have only done this method with a crib quilt or a small lap size. You will need more material than the length of the quilt top, say 1/2 yard.

I wish I could do it with pictures. Maybe someone can figure out how to do it via my directions and will be able to post pictures.

Try it with paper first. Actually, the first time I did it, I did it with newspaper which for that quilt, the newspaper measured half the size of the quilt. So I felt comfortable in doing it with fabric.

I think I get it now. I drew this up in PowerPoint. Is this what you mean?

Yes, that's it.

Thank you....that illustrates it perfectly. Wow, who would have thought of that?

Only an engineer would think of that!!

Great illustration.

Thanks for the website!

Is there a guideline as to how far down you move the right side piece. The visual really helped me comprehend this. Thanx!

You move until you reach the size you want. He suggests to measure it until you are happy with the size

maria, did you actually do the math or did you just wiggle it around until it was wide enough to make it? how did you know it would be enough?

Thank you for the picture and the explanation that lead to the picture!

But wouldn't you need a really long piece of fabric? I understand if it's a 50" quilt, not a lot of waste. But if it's 60" or 70", seems like you'd lose a lot in those tiny triangle pieces...

Thanks again for the pics!

Whew!!! I read it and it made my head spin!!! I cannot get a mental picture of this either!!! :cry: :cry:

OK, just saw the diagram, and now I see how it works. Don't read the explanation on the internet...it is just very confusing!! :-D

I did the math to figure out how much fabric I needed, cut it, and then shifted the fabrics until I got to the size I wanted, about 6 inches larger than the size of my top. Of course, as my first time, I was a little insecure, but when I saw it working I was very pleased.

I guess it is not always necessary to do this technique. If your top is, for example, 80 x 80, you can buy about 180 inches of fabric (5 yards) 44 inches wide, cut it into two pieces 90 inches each, and sew it next to each other on the long side, and you have a back about 90 x 88, perfect to have extra all the way around. In this case, if you use his technique, you have a big waste. CLEAR AS MUD!!

Thanks, Katier825, I was having a hard time visualizing his instructions and your powerpoint charts are perfect. I appreciate that you did that.

Thank you. A picture is worth a thousand words!! For sure!

Is there a trick to cutting such a long piece of fabric on the diagonal? When you sew it back together, does it being on the bias cause problems?

Very interesting!

Here is another way that works great. I use this for method for most of my backings.

http://www.reddawn.net/quilt/backings.htm