What do I do now?
 

I foolishly cut the backing and batting a mere 2.5 inches larger all around than my quilt top. I haven't found a long arm quilter who would even entertain quilting it. The quilt measures 32x32. The backing is a special fabric chosen by the recipient and I can't find a replacement. What do I do now short of explaining my error? I'm more than willing to admit the mistake but is 2.5 inches really too little around the quilt top to make it work?

i have quilted a queen size with about an inch around the top edge.

could you quilt it yourself? hand quilting in a hoop has always seems to me the very best way to retain control of things like shrink because i can see what's happening as it happens in slow time. but machine quilting a project that size shouldn't be too crazy either.

you can do it! and i bet it's spectacular too!

(obviously i have no counsel via the long arm thing. i've never used their services. i wonder though if you couldn't baste your quilt onto a muslin extension piece to give them the cloth they need. i am assuming it's for mounting it on a frame? i don't think even a heavily quilted project could lose 2.5 inches all around.....)


aileen

Can you baste some additional fabric onto your backing that will enlarge it enough for your LA person to quilt it for you? Then you can take the fabric off and bind the quilt.

this is a reasonable solution.

this was my first thought, as well :thumbup:

Ditto ... but ask your LAQ first as I'm sure she will want it on there with a short stitch, rather than a basting stitch, to minimize the give.

2-1/2" would be cutting it short for a LAQ to put it on the machine, though for a smaller piece like that, mine would deal with it and do it for me. However, you have to remember it's their business and their policies. You might ask if they would do it for you, if you paid them an added fee for the inconvenience.

And too, do they realize that the piece is that size? or perhaps they are thinking it's a full size quilt?

Talk to your LAQ. You would need to add the extra to the backing on all 4 sides and you can use a regular stitch since you will be trimming it later. You may also need to all some batting (that can be basted or you can use the new tape they have out now), particularly to the length. And if your LAQ prefers to do that herself, you should compensate her. It can be done.

Quilt it on a domestic

I have done 2 inches on a baby quilt without a problem. You need to be sure both your top and backing are really square - batting too. I have also sewn a few inches onto a throw size quilt back that I felt was a little too small a margin and then cut it off when finished. But your LAQ will have to agree.

are you quilting it or sending it out? you can make it work-
if sending it out to a long-armer simply add some muslin (leaders) basted on all the way around to give her a little more to work with---talk to her about it- she will advise you- if you are quilting it yourself baste very very well- and as long as you don't quilt it too heavily you will probably have plenty- the more quilting there is the more (draw up) of the fabric there is- so if the quilting is not very intricate it won't draw up alot. i long-arm and have had many with that much (or less) i just baste muslin on to give me something to pin to when loading- and allow room- it does take extra care & can cost a little more due to more work- but it is a doable situation.

I think this can be done, especially if you baste some fabric to it all around to give the longarmer someplace to place the side clamps, without them getting in the way of the hopping foot when quilting along the edges of the quilt. Make sure you discuss it with her first, of course, and I agree with everyone else who said to sew the extra fabric on with a regular stitch. Good luck!

I too, have LA'd with way less than the desired 4" all around, as long as 1) The quilt is small (yours is); 2) the quilt is
squared up, and 3) they don't want too heavy quilting on it. If all three conditions are met, you shouldn't have any problems; if they're not, I would add the extra backing and batting for insurance and quilt away. Good luck!

Don't worry. I have done quilts on a LA with that amount of extra around the edge. It is a small quilt and if the quilting isn't very dense there should be no problem. Try some people on the QB. I am thinking it is more the size of the quilt rather than the extra edge being narrow. It will take as much time to load it as to quilt it. Even though they get a set bottom fee for quilt size the time isn't worth it to them, IMHO. I would do any size quilt with out a second thought.

U could also base an exta border on the backing and remove it after quilting. I wouldn't worry about the small edge. Hope it works out for you.
peace

Being a longarm quilter for hire myself, I have added fabric to customers' backing several times to make the backing large enough to load on my frame and be able to clamp it without hitting the clamps when quilting. I like to butt strips of muslin against the backing fabric and zig zag the two together. Once the quilting is completed the muslin strips come off very easily.

For that small size you should be just fine. Maybe it's a message to yourself to branche into quilting on your machine. Good luck!

Heronfan, I am local (also outside of Troy, going towards Vermont) and I LA. If you are interested I can work with what you have, if you are willing to baste some extra fabric to top and bottom so I can attach to my leaders. Feel free to PM me if you are interested.

My LAQ just did one for me where I had only 2" all around a 54" square quilt. Since yours is so small, I would definitely ask if your LAQ is aware of the size, and if she still has limitations I would sew an extra 3" piece of fabric all around that could be trimmed after quilting.

That's my suggestion, too.

This is what I would do. Good luck.

Hope I understand you well enough: Why not sew a temporary piece all around it so that it is big enough to fit on the frame and then remove it after the quilting is done?

Quilt it yourself on your domestic machine. I do all the time with quilts up to 120x120. A 32x32 quilt is very doable on even a small throat opening.

O.K., I'm not a longarm quilter so am going to ask a silly question. Just how many extra inches should a person have if doing it this method? Why the extra? I know when I handquilt to have extra but when looking at these replies it seems that it is desirable for 3 or more inches. Just being curious....

This should work fine, but go ahead and add some extra all the way around and cut it off before binding. I've done queensize on my longarm with that small a backing extra.

I have done that for several of my quilts, sometimes just because I don't want to waste $10 a yard fabric just to be cut off, but sometime, I just run short. I've basted muslin onto the edges and my Longarm armer has not had a problem with it. They can center it enough to keep the backing and top lined up correctly.

I wouldn't think on a quilt that small that 2.5" would be a problem. It would if it were on a king sized quilt! Try quilting it yourself! You can do it!!!

Hi,
Just baste a piece of muslin to the sides.
Sandy

If you are entertaining the long arm quilter route, do not baste the quilt together. It will just have to be taken apart and probably the LA'er will charge you for doing so. The top, and back have to be put on separate rollers and the batting floated between the top and back layers. You might sew a piece of muslin to the sides and that would give them something to attatch the top and bottom leaders. The sides need that extra to clear the clamps. Depending on how you want it quilted and the batting thickness, you will need to have at least a 4" strip on each side. If you are doing custom and the LA'er will be using a table and ruler, you will need 6" on each side.
I know most quilters do not understand the why's of having that extra yardage on the back, I would suggest go to a long arm shop and ask to watch them load a quilt and it will become quickly apparent as to why that extra yardage is needed. Hope this sheds some light on the subject.

Ditto that! That small of a quilt would be a breeze to fmq on a domestic machine.....even if all you did was SITD. 2" on each side is plenty if you are doing it yourself.

Could you possibly take strips of a fabric from the front to add to each edge of the back to make bigger backing? Batting you can always get more of.

This seems to be the logical way to do it. I have had quilts come back from the LAQ with not enough backing and had to piece them. It was really disheartening. It can be done. It will just take a lot more care by the LAQ. No bigger thn it is, you could quilt it on your domestic, but if you haven't practiced, this may not be the time. It depends on your skill and sense of adventure.

I am a LAQ and have done many baby quilts where your back would have been big enough - top doesn't stretch that much for such a small quilt.

I quilt on my domestic...but in case I want to use a LAQ in the future, how much extra backing and batting should I leave...

There is no quilt police that says the back can't be pieced. If you have pieces left from the top, cut up the back and make a more interesting back. I have pieced backs on purpose before and they turn out very well.

I would just quilt it on a regular sewing machine.

I think this would work. Give it a try, or just quilt yourself. I quilt all my quilts. Good luck whatever you decide.

I have quilted on my home machine with less than that with no problem. Since it's a small piece, why not do it yourself? Stitch in the ditch is a pretty good solution for people who are not very experienced yet. Or just free-motion loops or swirls all over. Be brave...you can do it!

As a longarmer, I have had many quilt backs come in that were not wide enough and a few that were not long enough. the reason we need the extra width on the backings is because of the clamps that we use to keep the quilts taut. I generally add 4 or 5" of muslin to the sides for my customers and it makes my job easier as well. Since your quilt is small add some length to the bottom of the backing, It would be best if you had some of your backing left over to attach back on, but if not add some muslin. On large quilts, the quilts shrink as we quilt them, so there is a chance of running out of fabric by the time we get to the end of the quilt. I don't really see a big problem with getting it quilted. if you can't find anyone to quilt it for you, email me and see what we can do to get it done.

I just did one with less on a friends longarm it was fine. 32x32 could be done on yours or I would ask a friend who does there's on a home machine. Good Luck!!!

This is such a small quilt you may be very pleased at doing it yourself. Even if you just quilt it on the diagonal every 1" you would be done in no time, then just put a nice binding on it. This is how I did my very first quilt and I used 1" masking tape and stitch on both sides of the tape, removed it and then reapplied it 1" from my previous stitching

You would save $ and have a great job, If you wanted to quilt a pattern on it, I would still free motion with your domestic machine and do stippling, it looks great and is very forgiving, again the client would be thrilled!!