Two sided quilts question
#12
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Location: NY
Posts: 10,590
Hi everyone! I did quilt Christmas Wishes from the side with the deer and the house and my quilting was done to enhance that side and I figured the designs would just fall "wherever" on the other side. I quilt on longarm that is mounted on a rack and it is near impossible to line up the two sides if you had two quilts the same on top and bottom, actually one would have to be a mirror image of the other but even then I wouldn't attempt it. On mine, I messed up on my measurement on the top. I thought I had it centered within an inch from top to bottom (side to side lining up is much easier). But I must have wrote it down wrong. So I ended up chopping some of the blocks on the bottom of the scrappy side. As it was mine I didn't really care as I was so happy with the overall finish.
Anytime I have done a double sided quilt, I choose one side that is the "top" and custom quilt it for that, and let the chips fall where they may for the back. I would never attempt to line up a double sided quilt so the quilting falls perfectly on both sides. I value my sanity (what little is left) too much. There may be someone out there in the quilting world who can do it on a rack but I am definitely not one of them. I do know it is possible to do it with a QAYG method. Easier to control where the quilting lines fall when quilting one block at a time.
Anytime I have done a double sided quilt, I choose one side that is the "top" and custom quilt it for that, and let the chips fall where they may for the back. I would never attempt to line up a double sided quilt so the quilting falls perfectly on both sides. I value my sanity (what little is left) too much. There may be someone out there in the quilting world who can do it on a rack but I am definitely not one of them. I do know it is possible to do it with a QAYG method. Easier to control where the quilting lines fall when quilting one block at a time.
#13
Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: West Central Illinois
Posts: 63
I have quilted 2 sided quilts on both my domestic machine and my longarm.
Sometimes if you hit where two seams meet on both sides you have a problem, like in a center of a 4 patch, but I just try to avoid the centers in choosing a quilting pattern.
It defiantly helps to have a quilt on the bottom that is not as detailed. I have so many quilts to finish and so little time it helps me get more done.
But not all quilts are a candidate for that type of quilting. I would never attempt a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt with all those pieces as a good choice. Having said that I have used "scrap" and "string" quilts as backs. I also often take my leftover pieces of fabric and sew them together in rectangles and strips and squares to make a pieced back.
If you quilt by checkbook, check with your longarm quilter because I have two friends who quilt for other people. One will do double sided quilts, the other will not.
Sometimes if you hit where two seams meet on both sides you have a problem, like in a center of a 4 patch, but I just try to avoid the centers in choosing a quilting pattern.
It defiantly helps to have a quilt on the bottom that is not as detailed. I have so many quilts to finish and so little time it helps me get more done.
But not all quilts are a candidate for that type of quilting. I would never attempt a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt with all those pieces as a good choice. Having said that I have used "scrap" and "string" quilts as backs. I also often take my leftover pieces of fabric and sew them together in rectangles and strips and squares to make a pieced back.
If you quilt by checkbook, check with your longarm quilter because I have two friends who quilt for other people. One will do double sided quilts, the other will not.
#16
Super Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Colorado
Posts: 1,184
I made a California King size Court House Steps using Betty Cottons technique. Beautiful. You MUST have an “Add a Quarter” ruler. I cannot say enough good things about this ruler for this technique.
#17
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 1,857
I usually do a sort of 2 sided quilt. I rarely have a plain backing. I use up extra blocks or fabrics or, at the very least, add stripes, triangles or just large pieces to put a backing together. I just like the looks of something on the back. When making the decision on the quilting, I usually only think about the top. It has always worked out with the backing.
#18
I do a lot of 2 sided quilts, I always do QAYG. I choose the patterns (top and back) specifically to go w/ what I am planning for quilting (or specifically so the quilting on one side doesn't matter) and quilt through all layers at the same time.
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