Pieced quilt backing tips?
04-03-2022, 03:00 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Lansing, Michigan
Posts: 1,015
Pieced quilt backing tips?
I've decided I want to piece together a backing for my kitty quilt I made, but I've never pieced together a back before. Is there anything I need to know before attempting this, or any tips any one has? Like when I sew two fabrics together should it be a half inch instead of 1/4 inch? I just want to do it correctly so everything comes out okay.
04-03-2022, 04:46 PM
#3
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 934
If you are planning to have it quilted on a longarm (yours or someone else's), the seams should run horizontal (aligned with the roller bars), not vertical (perpendicular to the bars), so that when rolled, the seam thickness doesn't keep adding onto itself.
04-03-2022, 05:14 PM
#4
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Lake Elsinore, CA
Posts: 15,144
If I'm piecing very big pieces together I usually use 1/2" seam allowance. (And I never, never press the seam open. If it comes apart even a little bit, an open seam will expose the batting, but a seam pressed to the side won't.) If the back has lots of pieces, I just use the regular seam allowance.
If possible, and if you're sending it to a longarmer, you should try to make your long seams run horizontally. (However if you need them to run vertically, the longarmer may be able to load the quilt sideways on the frame, as long as the quilting pattern isn't directional.) But you may still wind up with seams going both directions, and even diagonally. I've made some quilts with almost as many seams on the back as on the front. One friend, who is a longarmer, makes a lot of quilt backs out of 10" squares. There are seams running horizontally and vertically, and she doesn't have a problem with them because it isn't just one seam adding bulk, but many seams spaced across the quilt.
If possible, and if you're sending it to a longarmer, you should try to make your long seams run horizontally. (However if you need them to run vertically, the longarmer may be able to load the quilt sideways on the frame, as long as the quilting pattern isn't directional.) But you may still wind up with seams going both directions, and even diagonally. I've made some quilts with almost as many seams on the back as on the front. One friend, who is a longarmer, makes a lot of quilt backs out of 10" squares. There are seams running horizontally and vertically, and she doesn't have a problem with them because it isn't just one seam adding bulk, but many seams spaced across the quilt.
04-04-2022, 03:42 AM
#5
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Delaware
Posts: 946
I use a 1/2" seam and reduce the stitch length a bit. I've opened seams and pressed to the side and neither have had an issue over the many years I've been quilting. Your longarmer may have a preference but mine does not seem to have a problem with either method. I like to have horizontal seams whenever possible but every now and again vertical seams work better yardage wise and I go that route. I love pieced backs and find them much more interesting than a one piece backing.
