Quilt Backing Question
 

I have made a small (42 inch square) top for a child’s quilt and have the perfect piece of fabric for the back but the backing is exactly the same size as the top. I usually allow a 2 inch extra allowance when I come to make my quilt sandwich so I’m panicking a bit!

The top is made up of 5 inch squares, 5 x 2.5 inch rectangles and 1.5 sashing and I plan to ‘stitch-in-the-ditch’ when I come to quilt it. I don’t want to cut anything off the top as it would spoil the pattern.

Should I just pin the quilt sandwich with ever pin I own and hope the backing doesn’t move or is there anything else I can do to keep it in place?

You can try to baste it with washable elmers school glue then quilt it. Make sure you don't have large drops of glue. If you do have large drops o glue smooth them out first. Once you get it smoothed out dry it with a dry iron on cotton setting.

I would add fabric on all 4 sides of your backing piece to allow for "shrinking" of fabric as the quilting process does sometimes seem to eat fabric! Even though your outer border surrounding the backing piece is different fabric and maybe different color, I would choose something that would accent or coordinate with it. Just my humble opinion. It's your quilt!

I have had this happen and because I didn’t want it to be uneven on the backing should it shift some, I added a piece down the length and off center so that I didn’t have to worry about it staying in the center and then shortened my length of the back added a wide enough piece so that it would compensate for the needed length. Hope this makes sense. Good luck with your project.

This is what I was thinking. If you choose the right fabric for the strips, it could make the back really interesting too, and look like you did it on purpose instead of trying to solve a problem.

I would opt to put a border on the back . Your quilting will “shrink” the while thing by a little bit—perhaps just enough to cause shortage and aggravation.

Thank you for your suggestions.

I think I came up with the answer, in bed, at 1.00am this morning!

I remembered I had posted a link on this forum that showed how to add a facing instead of a binding. QB member ‘willferg’ had then added 2 links to an even better method.

So I think I will get the quilting done and see what happens with the backing. If it’s ok I’ll bind as normal but if it’s pulled back a little I’ll bind it.

I absolutely agree!!

Very little shrinkage or shifting when basting with Elmer's Washable School Glue, the old fashioned white one only. There is no shifting while quilting. And very inexpensive.
What I do:
Lay batting down, place backing down, line up as perfectly as you can, take your time, fold half of the backing back, drizzle or spot with the Elmer's, smooth any blobs and lines with your finger. Press with hot iron to help dry the glue and get the backing smooth. Fold back the other half of the backing, repeat.

Flip over what you have done so the batting is face up. Repeat with the top. Take your time. I usually allow the glue to dry overnight, an over abundance of caution on my part. Quilt as usual, bind as usual. Wash, dry, gift.

I totally agree about using the Elmer's washable school glue. I have been quilting close to 30 years and have struggled through many quilts to pin, baste, spray and stretch. I only just started using the Elmer's washable school glue and am already hooked!! I am still asking myself, what took me so long?". It has made all the difference.

Make your backing bigger. I almost never have a plain backing. I use it as a place to use the bits and bobs left over. For that small of a top, I might add a diagonal stripe about 6 or 8 inches wide. This would allow for plenty of room to trim it and not have seams to close to the corners. You could use a complimentary piece of fabric or sew together your leftovers to make the strip. Another suggestion is to add a 'cross' in the center - 4" band in the middle across and 4" middle top to bottom.

Whoops - I’ve just re-read my message and realised last sentence should read - ‘ ... but if it’s pulled back a little I’ll add a facing.’

Sorry!

This sounds like a very sensible solution. I would be very, very reluctant to quilt a sandwich that was utterly even.

Not a border. Use strips down the middle off center as grammasharon said in post #4. It would be too hard to keep the widths of a back border even.

ha, i wondered about the facing or binding. I was thinking of just using those clips to hold the backing to the front while you quilt. it really shouldn't move that way. Good luck, no matter what you decide.

Love Elmer's Glue. With it you can have same size front and back, even though I leave about a 2" margin on the back and batting.. When I use this method here are a couple of things I do that make it easier. I mark my backing on the edges of the lengthwise fold and the width fold with a washable marker. Then do the same for the batting and the top. Makes lining up very easy. Usually after gluing the batting to the back and then to the front I use my hands to smooth press the batting and fabric together. Yesterday I had a light-bulb idea. Why not use a rolling pin? I tried it, and wow, it really did the trick. Another re-purposing for an old favorite.

As a reference for future backings that don’t quite fit right, google: “John Flynn backing on the diagonal”. This is a great technique. I am not a math person so I just “wing” it, but this gives the explanation of how it works.

I had the same problem with a table runner. I was not going to take the chance that I get the whole thing Hand quilted and then not have enough fabric so that I could add a decent binding.
I just copied the same star that was on the front of the table runner and enlarged it. Placed the large star in the middle of the backing fabric so that I did not have to panic the whole time. Therefore, I have about 3 inches of extra fabric on the ends where I had 1/4" extra fabric before.
It sure looks like I planned it that way...pretty darn good looking if you ask me. Wish that I knew how to send pictures.

I would piece the back. Cut the backing once top/bottom off center. Cut a strip 5" x length of another fabric. Sew to each piece to form a vertical stripe. Cut the backing side/side off center. Now cut a piece 5" x new width of back of another fabric. Sew to each piece to form a horizontal stripe.

I would just add some "waste" strips long all 4 sides that would allow you to pull the quilt together easier than if you just had the same size pieces. Does that make sense? I have done that for a long arm quilter, and it made it work for her.

Thank you for suggesting so many options . They’re all great ideas but I’m still undecided!

Most of the quilts that I make end up a little over the width of backing fabric and being too mean to buy more I will add scraps or spare blocks from the top. There are many ways you can do this and whatever you chose any one else will just think that it was intentional.

It will certainly be a better outcome than hoping for the best and ending up with being even half and inch tight.

haven't read all the replies but didn't see the idea to just pillowcase the quilt - quilt the top and batting as desired. press well both top and backing then place the backing right sides together on the face of the quilt and stitch around all 4 sides, leaving a small opening to turn the piece right side out. After turning and making sure corners are as you like them, hand stitch the opening closed. Then do one or two bits of final quilting to tack the backing in place - for this I usually just restitch over a previous line of quilting for about an inch or less in several different places around the quilt. You could also hand tack it from the back thru the batting only so no stitches show on top.

This sounds similar to another method - I think it’s called ‘birthing’.

As it’s such a small quilt I wondered about putting the front and back right sides together, sew round three sides, turn right sides out, insert the wadding then quilt. It works in my head but whether it would work in practice is another matter!

Personally my vote is with the suggestions of adding extra into the center area of the backing. Be creative with fabric and placement. Use 1/2” seams pressed open then if they happen to align with seam in the top there is less bulk. No worrying, gluing or stressing on how the needed extra will align with edges of quilt. I use this principle when clients have pieced extra strip on the backing. I start with the narrower added strip. That way I never end up with the seam only a couple of inches from the end of the quilt. IMHO it is always better to have the seam further from the edge.

I will often enlarge my backing by using up the leftover blocks etc and make a strip the lenght of the quilt for the backing. Will do same for width. Better to have to much than too little.

I believe it all depends on the thickness of the batting you are using. An 80/20 batting will not take up as much fabric as thicker or heavier battings. I wouldn't be surprised if a 2" coordinating border all the way around the backing before you quilt would take care of the possible overlap. Also, the heavier the quilting the more it will take up the fabric. Don't worry yourself too much about this; enjoy the challenge. :)

Quilt Backing Question Update
 

Last week I asked for help because the binding I wanted to use on a small quilt was the same size as the top - no extra ease around the sides.

I got lots of very helpful suggestions - thanks for those - but in the end I decided to use a thin wadding and simple quilting and did not increase the backing size as many of you suggested.

I got away with it - bet that never happens again!

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Good job. I'm glad it worked out for you.

So glad it worked for you, you made the right decisions for the scale of your project.

Sometimes I can get by with really close tolerances, the top I'm currently working on only had about an extra inch side to side on the batting but I did have plenty of the back for this one. Many of us have had the experience of somehow finding ourselves (too late!) an inch or two short on a long quilt... there are some creative solutions to that problem. Some pretty creative use of language too, but not fit to print!

So glad this worked for you! Thanks for letting us know!

I'd add a small border around the back.

I agree. The Elmer's School Glue has become my state of the art way to baste a quilt of any size!

I agree. The Elmer's School Glue has become my state of the art way to baste a quilt of any size!