Originally Posted by annesthreads

Are you quilting on a home machine? Does the additional bulk of seams on both sides ever give you any problems?

Originally Posted by feline fanatic

I piece a lot of my backings. Usually with leftovers from the top. However, I quilt on a LA so have no issues with bulk when hitting an area with all those seam allowances. This is something you may wish to also take into consideration. As far as perfectly lining up the back to the front, I have never done it successfully. I am always a bit off. I would never attempt to do a double sided quilt where blocks need to line up exactly, however it has been done with great success. I prefer to not give myself the headache so my pieced backings will be completely different design than the front as in this example.
Here is the front:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]529238[/ATTACH]

And this is the back
[ATTACH=CONFIG]529239[/ATTACH]

Originally Posted by citruscountyquilter

I piece my backings all the time. In fact I've never made a quilt that I didn't have a seam in the back. The back has always been quite different from the front however. I wouldn't try to match the front to the back. You do want your seams on the back to be as straight as possible however. When sandwiching your quilt if you mark the batting and the backing with the center edge and the center middle of each piece it helps to match things up. I use a frixon pen or you can run some basting stitches as reference points.
To match up the center which you can't see through the layers try taping two straws to your table in the shape of a cross to mark your center point. You'll bee able to feel the lump through the fabric layers depending on how you are basting layer the the quilt together. You'll be able to see the center markings on the edges. Since I glue baste I put my batting down first and then lay the backing over that and then fold the backing back to put the glue on half the batting and then do the other half. In any event the straws keep me on track to keep the centers together.

Originally Posted by ghostrider

If your backing is exactly x" larger on all sides than the batting (you can add muslin borders beyond the actual quilt back, just make sure the back is centered accurately), and the batting is exactly x" larger on all sides than the top, then you should be able to align the back with the front by making sure the excess batting and backing both stay at that x" measurement on all four sides. Dense basting helps immensely. Disclaimer: I've never done this technique larger than a 60" square lap quilt, but it did work out very well in that case.

Originally Posted by Jeanne S

I love to piece my quilt backs but I never try to match up designs or seams with the front---that would drive me crazy. I may coordinate the back with some leftover blocks and fabrics from the front but in a much simpler overall design. The quilting stitching focuses on the front piecing and just "falls where they may" on the back!

Originally Posted by Jeanne S

I love to piece my quilt backs but I never try to match up designs or seams with the front---that would drive me crazy. I may coordinate the back with some leftover blocks and fabrics from the front but in a much simpler overall design. The quilting stitching focuses on the front piecing and just "falls where they may" on the back!