Piecing the backing
 

Good Morning:
I am a newbie here and to quilting and I will be attempting to back my first quilt top. My fabric is not wide enough and I was wondering if it is proper to piece it together? There is not a pattern to the back so that is plus for me
Thanks
Alexe

Welcome Alexe from Southern CA! Sure you can piece your back!

Sure you can piece it. You can put different pieces together too. Just wait a minute. There will be people on here to help you with your problem. There is a ton of help on here.

I always piece my backs! I generally use 2 or 3 pieces of fabric from the top or matching fabrics. I don't like to have a seam smack dab in the middle of the back so I avoid that by using 3 pieces instead of 2. I often will integrate a leftover block from the front into the back also.

About the only 'sort of rule/guide' for piecing a back that I have - I try to avoid having a seam right in the center of the back - reason - supposedly it gets more stress with folding when it's in the center.

My reason - if it's 'way off center' - it looks planned - it it's 'almost on center, but not quite' - it looks like a goof-up to me. Also, if the fabric is such that seams are not obvious, I see no need to do the center panel with a strip on each side.

I love the idea of adding leftover blocks from the front to the back and piecing it. I did two of my backs that way. It gives the back some interest and looks custom to me. Have fun.

I used this method a lot when I first started out. Great way to use up yardage I didn't fancy as much any more:

http://www.maryquilts.com/off-center-4-patch-backing/

oops, this was in answer to the original poster. Sorry for my misplacement ;-)

Welcome!!! Its okay to piece your back. In quilting anything goes. Personally I don't piece mine unless I have to sew 2 of the same pieces together. I'm just not one for mixing my back pieces. But, I have seen many beautiful quilts that do. Have fun with it!

welcome from south Mississippi and I do it all the time....I have purchased a Santa door panel and appliqued it on to the back of a I spy Santa quilt. too cute

welcome from OK...
I piece my backings...and our guild just had Lerlene Nevaril http://www.lerlenenevaril.com/ and she wrote an entire book on pieced backings...go for it!

cool! I'm going to check her out.

Welcome from NE Ohio. I've used pieced backing on several of my quilts. IMHO I think it adds a little more interest to a quilt.

Just remember if you are taking a pieced back to a long arm quilter it is possible to center the backing side to side fairly accurately but it is almost impossible to get the position between top and bottom accurate. Keep this in mind when using blocks etc in the backing. If it is going to bother you if the block etc. isn't positioned perfectly between the top and bottom you might want to reconsider. The higher the loft and the denser the quiting the more the difficulty increases. If other longarm quilters have had a different experience I would be interested to know. We have a Eastern IA long arm group that meets in July. I will pose this to them then and post what their thoughts on it are.

Welcome from SC Texas. I have pieced the backing on some of my quilts, on one I just finished, a lap quilt I used the fabric I chose for the back and put two borders that matched the borders on the front around it. I liked the way it turned out. It is your quilt and you can do what you want with it to make it your own.

I think the off-centeredness of blocks give the quilt character. I don't like things perfectly centered in the back, but give kudos to those who care enough to do it.

here are some pics to inspire you!

http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...s-t148395.html

debra, i like the look of that, thanks for the link.

alexe, welcome to the board. we often say around here... 'your quilt, your rules' :)

Also, if you ever are short of backing fabric, here's a way to diagonally piece it. For a quilt that really needed almost 3.5 yards, the calculator showed that I could get away with under 3. Not sure of the exact numbers, but it's worth looking at.

This site includes an on-line calculator and instructions that I was able to follow:
http://www.multi-patch.com/html/diag...calculator.php

Link to the originator's instructions and formula:
http://www.flynnquilt.com/workshop/FreeLessons/

Here is the method I use to avoid the center seam. http://www.reddawn.net/quilt/backings.htm

I always try another whole quilting pattern on the back of my quilt, usually an easier pattern. Since I have to buy the fabric anyway, I might as well practice my quilting skills and use one of those patterns that I have been wanting to try. So I get two quilts for the money. Sometimes, I end up liking the back, as well as, if not more, than the front. LOL

If you only want to use one fabric on the back and you don't want the seam in the middle then sew two lengths of the fabric together with a seam on BOTH SIDES (like a tube). Then you can cut down the MIDDLE of one piece. Your backing will be wide enough and you can center the top on the piece withoug worry of a folded seam.

Welcome from N. Texas! I pieced my first quilt back in December of last year. I had pieces left over from the front of the quilt, and didn't want to have to go out and buy more fabric. I was worried about it looking too messy, or like I was lazy and just slapped fabrics together. It is just squares of various sizes, I did try to balance it out somewhat with placement (rectangles around the edges with bigger blocks in the middle). I really liked it after I completed it and will definitely feel free to piece my backs again. I'll have to see if I can get a picture and add it.

Good luck with finishing your quilt! You'll have to post a picture when you are finished. :o

Pieced backings are a great way to go...sometimes called "back art"...you can get really creative and use up fabrics in really unique ways. I have seen some great pieced backs for quilts and have done some myself. You can do really simple ones, or get quite elaborate in your piecing for your backs. Have fun!

I piece my backing all the time. The only time I consider what way the seam goes is if I plan to longarm it. If the seam goes side to side it's easier for me to keep the tension even. If the seam goes top to bottom, it tightens up the quilt in the middle where the bulk is and leaves the sides floppy. (as it rolls up on the rollers) But, if I'm tabletop quilting it , then anything goes.

That is the only option if your quilt is bigger than your yardage. There are many websites that have ways to piece your backing. Have fun with it.

Remember, there are no quilt police, with that said.... Sure you can piece your back, I have done it but I do not like to do it. I purchase 108-110 inch material at my LQS or order it from Keepsake Quilting and use that. I have numerous Longarmers tell me they prefer that, but of course do the pieced backs too. I like the looks of some pieced backs with extra fabric and blocks in it but I'm no good at math and it takes that to figure out where to place that stuff.

When I don't have enough material to quilt the back, I use one of the other fabrics in the quilt or buy a color that would go with it. Measure/cut what extra you are going to need, then cut this section in two parts and sew it to the backing on each side.

I just pieced a back by adding wide borders all the way around. My center is what I originally planned to use for the back but I didn't buy enough. It turned out really nice, so just another thought. :-)

Welcome from Waco Texas. YES piece the back. I do it all the time. and mostly because I just don't want a plain backing. sometimes I use some of the leftovers from the front and just add then to the backing to make it the correct size. good luck

This is a great method. Thank you for sharing the link!

I, too piece my backs. I use leftover fabric from the front if I have it or just dive into my stash and grab some fabric that will look nice on the back.

the standard for piecing backings to make them large enough is to divide the back into 3's, and sew 3 strips together, generally lengthwise with 45" wide fabric. Personally, i haven't put pieced blocks or different kinds of fabric together but that has been more happenstance than planning not too. Do make you backing seams bigger than 1/4".

Welcome!
And if the fabric isn't wide enough then you certain can and should piece it. Now that I've been quilting a little longer I'm getting more adventurous and following the suggestions of those who mix n match the back or add a spare block or two from the front. It looks more planned that way and is certainly more interesting than just a plain back with a seam.

Alexe, welcome form Northern California. As you will find there is a lot of help here on the board. Thanks to all for the links. BrendaK

Alexe,
Welcome from central Texas! Of course you can piece your quilt backing. Here's one of my backings:

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...45965719hUYGSp

Here's the front:
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...45965719jqgEmB
Sharon W. in Texas

Welcome from Georgia. We're always here to help.

If my backing is not wide enough I make a a Flange and then add a border to make my backing a little larger than my top, this gives a nice finish. I am sure in the archives of this Quilting Board there are instructions for making a flange, which can also be done on the top of a quilt.

Welcome to the Quilt Board,, it is perfectly fine to piece the backing,, you can have fun with it and use up some of your stash...If you are going to send it out to have it quilted just make sure it is at least 4" larger all the way around that the top. Long arm quilters like that, it makes our lives so much easier..

It is absolutely proper to pice the back. Some people use a pieced back as a stash buster. I hate piecing backs, because they can easily detract from the front of the quilt, but I do when I don't have enough good quality muslin or wide quilt backing. And welcome from N. Texas, 60 miles north of Dallas, 30 miles south of Durant, Oklahoma. froggyintexas