Never assume...
 

Never assume that the backing the your clients bring for LA quilting is wide and long enough. But i just did. I had done several for the same lady and she always allows about 6 inches all around so I just pinned it on. Since it is a very thin sheet I had extra nine inches on each side. The quilt is square 93 x 93 so if figured it is not matter which way it went. Wrong. I come near the end and oops there is not enough backing..

Took quilt off the frame and trimmed the sides to add to the bottom. I need to piece the sides strips to complete the quilt. I don't mind this on one that is heavy quilted and printed, you don't notice the additions very much but this is solid black with gold quilting..:(

So, note to self, measure, measure and measure.

Oops. Good job you are able to trim and patch, but very frustrating.

I had a client that gave me the backing that was exactly the dimension of her quilt. It took me twice as long to pin baste the quilt and the extra time was billed on her invoice.

Feeling your pain--I just did a charity quilt for a friend and she was ok with me piecing bat to use--I mismeasured and ended up about 4 in. short of bat! so I was whipstitching some extra bat at the bottom while it was on the frame--duh!

that must have been a surprise... and a bummer as well. Thank goodness you are able to solve the problem. Since I typically do my own quilts, I have gotten in the habit of labeling my backing (length, width and top) so when I go to load it on the machine I don't have to second guess ...

As the saying goes-leave nothing to chance! Measure, measure, measure again.

The last time I sent a quilt to a LA'er I pinned slips to the top, the batting and the backing, giving measurements as exact as I could take them, with arrows showing width and length. She commented afterwards that it was a great help and time saver when she loaded it.

this happened to me as well with a quilt I was quilting for a friend for Christmas.Horrors of horrors when you get to that point when you realize it isnt long enough. Glad it worked out for you

6 inches on each side?

Don't take offense but I was often told if you assume something, you make an ass out of "u" and an ass out of "me". I thought that was kind of clever. Doesn't mean I always follow that. Ha!

At least you were able to take some off the sides to make up the difference. I once made a quilt top that was going to be used as a duvet cover, since she didn't want it quilted, so I bought a king size sheet that was very soft, and I thought it would be big enough, NOT!! Well, long story short, that very night my son came home to tell me that is fiancé had broken off the engagement (one month before the wedding) because she had a richer, thinner boyfriend and had been seeing him all along. When I expressed my "displeasure" to my friends for her hurting my son, they all agreed she had done him wrong. Since neither he nor his sister wanted the quilt, I finished it as a raffle quilt for my church's Holiday Fair that year. But get this, the pattern for this quilt was "Lover's Knot", or rather Lover's NOT. I was just happy that it made quite a bit of money for my church, so I was thankful for that. Fortunately, some time later he met someone who is a wonderful girl, comes from a good family, and they have a beautiful daughter, our DGD Zoe who will be 6 in May. I guess he kissed a lot of frogs before finding his princess.

Some do 6 each side, top and bottom. I do 4 all the way around.
Reason: pinning the top and bottom takes up room and you need extra on the sides for the clips. Videos on YouTube show how it's done.

That one girl did your son a HUGE favor.

That almost happened to me the other day and even after measuring it in front of the customer she insisted that the back was bigger than the quilt measured them both twice and had to lay the quilt on top of the backing before she believed it.lol

Love your story Marge you haven't told me this one- hope you're doing well this week. Chat with you later dear friend. Love an hugs Gerbie