?? For those who use wide backings
 

How on earth do you possibly iron that stuff?!? This is the first time I'm using wide back fabrics on quilts. I have 2 (relatively) large quilts to deal with - one takes 3.5 yards; the other 6 yds of the wide backing.

I'm finishing these for my friend and quilting mentor who recently passed away. Of the remaining quilts to be finished she wanted 5 out of the 6 long armed (1 other to finish hand quilting). I have 4 of them going to one quilter in the coming days. It was her suggestion to use wide fabric. So I bit the bullet and purchased fabric online (which I've never done) and it is due to arrive today.

The original quilter - and I - are/were both pre-washers. So that is my plan with these two pieces. But how do I possibly iron a piece of fabric that is 108" wide!?!? I use my cutting table with towels laid on it to iron my regular yardage.

Granted, obviously, it's a matter of just moving it all left/right/forward/backward but sheesh! How does it not end up almost as wrinkled as before you started, lol??

I usually try to remove from the dryer before wrinkles set in, and only iron out places that are really bad. When you put it on the long arm, you bring it pretty taut, which pulls out the little wripply kind of stuff that you might otherwise try to iron out. You can fold the piece (without creasing) and iron multiple layers at a time, which helps with the bulk.

Surprisingly enough, it doesn't. I am glad you are prewashing the backing because it can often shrink and bleed more dramatically than yardage. It will also be easier and softer to work with. Just like a large sheet, it can roll itself into a ball in the dryer so I usually take it out and give it all a good shake a couple of times while drying. I also don't leave it in the dryer until it is completely bone dry.

I use my oversized ironing board which is definitely not as wide as your cutting table. I start with the majority of the fabric between me and the ironing board and to my right. It can be a little cumbersome but that way the ironed area is falling away from me. After the left hand half is done, I slip that part off the ironing board and pull the right hand half back so it is again between me and the ironing board. I use a spray bottle and dry iron just because I have never found a spray iron that doesn't eventually leak.

Last word of advice-thoroughly vacuum/sweep the area around your pressing station. Nothing worse than putting in all that work and ending up with a backing that has picked up a bunch of loose thread and fuzz. Ask me how I know.

I pretty much always use wide backing. I prewash it, dry it to ( almost dry) then take it out of the dryer, and drape it over the longarm table. If i get it out of the dryer right away I never have to iron it.

Ask the longarmer about this. A couple of my longarm friends mist the backs when they're loading them on their quilting machine. When it's rolled on the bars the wrinkles are "pressed" out. So ask your longarm quilter - he or she may do the same.

I take wide backing fabric to the cleaners to be pressed if I wash it. Over and done.

I'm another that uses mostly wide backing. I stocked up and bought several bolts of it last summer. I've prewashed it all, usually dividing it up so 7 yards is about the largest piece.

I normally don't iron at all. I've found if I dry on medium with a towel, take it out and shake it a few times in the process so it does not end up in a ball with a wet center -when it's dry enough, I have DH help fold it up. If he stands in the libraray, I can be at the other end of the hallway and it's long enough for this.

Then it goes into storage for when I need it. I'll remove the selvages when I go to mount it on the LA, and make sure to smooth any wrinkles on the edges out as I'm rolling. I roll back and forth a few times to get the tension evened out, and then quilt it.

I've done 50-60 quilts and so far have not had any problems doing it this way.

Maybe it's my dryer, though I got a new washer/dryer set so I've done it this way with more than one dryer. I prewash everything and find I need to iron almost nothing.

My husband doesn’t like duvets so we have sheets and blankets on our king-size bed.
Although it is a tedious task I iron the sheets. When I iron the top sheet I fold in in half, then half again lengthwise. The sheet now fits on my standard size ironing board. I iron the top quarter then flip it over and iron the back.
Next I refold so that the inside becomes the outside and repeat.
Avoid pressing too close to the folds as this will form a crease.

NJ Quilter, I also just bought a wide backing for the very first time, and found it extremely unwieldy to handle, and I wasn't doing anything but trying to fold it for storage, LOL. I think I'll stick to regular width from now on.

Wish you were closer—-I have a mangle iron I would love to give to someone. Great for pressing those sheets and backs!!!

My grandmother use to iron sheets for the bed. Then cover them up with a bedspread, tucked under the pillows. One time she had to go out of town for a few weeks to take care of her sister. I was in charge of the house. I did not iron the sheets and put them right back on the bed after washing and drying. My grandfather never noticed the difference. She never ironed sheets again. LOL

Not related to pressing, but wide backing...at the LQS wide backing yardage is torn rather than cut. This means the piece is now torn on grain and will be straight on the LA, thus straight on your quilt. LA'er here does not prewash, but mists with water as QuiltBaer mentions. Those new mister bottles work great as they have such a fine overall spray.

Personally I prewash and have manhandled the backing at the ironing board in the past, but now that I have a LA of my own, I may just mist the backing when I'm ready. I will still prewash...like how Macybaby does it:thumbup:

Haha - thanks for the offer Ellen but I think the postage would be a bit much!

Thanks everyone for all the tips and tricks. I'm waiting for the fabric to arrive as I type. Once it does I will definitely contact the LA'er to see how she wants it treated. Since all of the other fabrics are pre-washed I will minimally do that regardless. But as to specifics of pressing, I'll rely on her preferences.

I want to make sure I have all of this in hand before I commit to giving her either 2 or 4 quilts on Fri.

I pre-wash everything, and seldom press before I need to cut the piece. For wide backs, I do as others have mentioned, misting on the longarm and letting it do the work of eliminating any wrinkles.

I take mine to a local laundry/dry cleaners and have them press it for me. They do it for less that $10, press it nice and put it folded lightly (not creased) onto a wide hanger. It's worth it to me not to have to try to wrestle it on my ironing board.

I only prewash fabrics that might run these days. I test them first before going to that trouble, and it's usually the reds and the bright pinks that do. I just iron the backing fabric after buying and before delivering to a long armer. Even though you may have washed the top fabrics to avoid shrinkage, the finished quilt will still shrink a little because the batting shrinks. If the back shrinks, it will most likely be just a small amount.

I agree. As a longarmer, I recommend the backings be washed if the top fabric was washed. Fold the backings when they come out of the dryer, don't press. Even if they are not washed; when I load them onto the longarm frame I straighten and smooth and maybe mist them with plain water to remove any stubborn wrinkles.

I prefer wide backs and prefer that they edge is torn so straight of grain--and I always buy a larger cut as it definitely will shrink and also if not torn, getting the straight of grain sometimes means losing about 8"! I don't allow to completely dry (and don't pre-wash my go-to Moda Legacy white off the bolt), shake it out, drape over the long arm belly bar. Then when I load it I use a spray bottle to dampen and get out any wrinkles/creases, roll it back and forth several times and let sit overnite ready for quilting. I do use my regular ironing board or padding on my old dining room table to do pressing on really creased wide back. Check with your Long Armer and ask if they do this too--if so washing and shaking out semi-dry will probably be enough.

I only wash wide backs when I am ready to sandwich the quilt. The fabric warm from the dryer goes straight to the sandwich. I press with an iron like I am pressing a tablecloth all of it together. Works great and I only use spray around the edges. Of course I pin all thru the center.