Has anyone ever quilted a quilt top without a backing (top and batting) and then add a backing and then quilt it to the top of the quilt? Hope this make sence.

No, I have not done that, would be interested in the reason for doing it this way?

I've done that before when doing trapunto.

Yes I have - with lap quilts that I want to be more cozy than an average quilt, I do all the fancy quilting on the top and batting only, then I back it with fleece and attach that with stitching in the ditch before binging everything.

I've done it with wall hangings where I want to do a lot of thread painting and don't want all the mess on the back - plus then I don't have to bury all the ends - just pull them through to the back and knot them. Like Lace says, you have to do a minimum to hold the backing on at the end though, so just plan that in your quilting design.

I've sort of done it, having screwed up the back so badly, that after it was quilted, attached another back on top of the existing one and did some simple SITD to secure it.

Hey now that's a great tip! Those days when your tension goes wrong or you get a case of the puckers... I'll remember that! I HATE unsewing FMQ. :mrgreen: :-D

i have quilted a top- to it's batting- then added a back (birthing style) and just tacked the backing in key spots.
it was a special request from someone who did not want quilting on the back- it turned out ok

Great job - but another weird question - why not just quilt it all at same time????i

yes, i do that sometimes.

i'm fairly confident about my piecing skills, but my quilting often stinks out loud. by adding the back after i've quilted the top i can hide a multitude of gafarbles. :lol:

gafarbles? Patrice I love your vocabulary! :mrgreen: :lol:

I had to go to the doctor last year because of a multitude of gafarbles! Painful stuff...

Awesome

I have done this several times. My free motion quilting has a lot to be desired and this is a wonderful way of hiding the horrible mess I can create. LOL. I am also trying a piece of trapunto right now that is being done in this manner. So much fun and adventure.

Great job - but another weird question - why not just quilt it all at same time????i[/quote]

Much harder to get it all under the machine and be able to move around to make the FMQ look nice. SOOO much easier this other way. Just have to make sure the SID is enough to "support" the front and batting and keep it from shifting.

What a neat idea!!

Doesn't the batting cause a lot of trouble on the feed dogs, etc? I've noticed my batting likes to catch on things as I'm moving a sandwiched quilt around while working on it.

I don't use my feed dogs when FMQing, so no, the batting doesn't get chewed up.

i usually cut up hunks of very lightweight muslin or fabrics that are too flimsy to use in the visible part of any quilt and use those as an inner backing. i just make sure it won't show through the fabric i've chosen for the final backing.

i usually cut up hunks of very lightweight muslin or fabrics that are too flimsy to use in the visible part of any quilt and use those as an inner backing. i just make sure it won't show through the fabric i've chosen for the final backing.

Lacelady-how interesting! You just gave me some new ideas. Thanks Your quilt is lovely.

Thanks to all for your input. I want to guilt the front one way and applique on the backing so they would have to be done separately. Thanks again. You ALL are GREAT.

There is a process call trapunto where you would do that in certain spots, adding extra batting, to make those parts of the quilt stand out more....hope I explained that well enough...

This is a pretty great thread. Lots of good ideas and new ways to save a not so pretty quilt backing. It also can be a great way to put two complete quilt tops back to back, making them reversible by season etc. Thanks for asking the original question, Mellie!

I frequently quilt and embellish art quilts without the backing. It's less of a worry and much neater if there is a lot of beading or other embellishment.

When the stitching is done, I use the envelope method (some call it birthing) to finish the quilt with a fused backing, either totally fused for small pieces or tack fused for larger ones.

I have not done that, but, now I have the idea, but my gafarbles have been acting up!!!!