Not only do wide backs save time at the sewing machine, they can also save time at the quilting machine! Best, Encounter pastel floral prints, bright geometric shapes, rustic plaid designs and more, when you decorate with these elaborate bed coverings. Hi Len, You can trim the excess off now or you can wait till the quilt is quilted. ⬇️ Missy learned how to match the prints from a curtain sewing book. Sometimes by the time I snip the threads after sewing on the last border of a quilt, I’m so excited to have it finished that the last thing I want to do is wrestle several more yards through the machine to seam backing fabric. If not, here are all the ways you can get in touch: https://www.quiltingcompany.com/contact-us/. In most cases, you should assume that the fabric requirements on the back of a quilt pattern will not be enough to pattern match your backing. Can you find the seams? When the backing doesn’t have seams, loading it on the frame is much faster–plus there’s less risk of puckers and distortion caused by multiple seams wrapping around the backing roller. The desired back width goes in to the formula as WQ=51 This is a tutorial on how to sew matched pieced quilt backs. The fabrics used for the back of the quilt should need the same care as the fabrics on the front. I added coordinating fabrics; I started using leftover blocks, orphan blocks, blocks that weren’t quite the right size and even blocks that weren’t well made. I sew and cut and move things to a better spot if needed. This work starts with 13 step-by-step ideas, plus over 65 photos and illustrations that will inspire you to get creative. The Quilting Company Team. Though wide backs work for smaller quilts too, it may not be as cost effective since you’ll be left with remnants that ironically may need a seam to make them usable for another quilt. Next, I measured my finished quilt top and added three inches around the perimeter (six inches total to the length & width) to calculate how large the backing needed to be. Julie replies... Good question! Machine quilting requires some practice before you tackle your first project. Brenna Autumn Leaves Are Falling, Leaf Quilt Pattern Roundup, https://www.quiltingcompany.com/contact-us/, First Look: McCall’s Quilting March/April 2021, On the Horizon: January Quilting Workshops, Behind the Scenes: Love of Quilting 3700 Series, Quilting Daily TV: What to Binge on Your Holiday. All Rights Reserved. Choose Options. This is improv piecing at its best. Perhaps you’ll want to start with a handful of fat quarters and sew them together in rows for your first attempt. This technique puts some friction on the backing as you wind it on the roller, helping to keep it smooth and straight. Shop our patchwork quilts for sale, and array your chosen bedding with decorative sham(s) and pillows. You then cut off the little fold line and open the fabric up and you’ve got a quilt back. For me, making the back became as much fun as making the front. Nov 11, 2014 - While developing the Stereo quilt pattern, I discovered that you would have some extra triangles. Sadly, the choices are much more limited beyond that width, so you’ll most likely still need to piece backing for a king-size quilt. You can remove the selvedge edges before you sew, but I’ll ‘fess up–I admit that I take a shortcut and sew about one inch inside the selvedge edges. But instead of making the label an afterthought, why not design a special block to act as the background for all that important label information. Rotate the tube until the two seams are on top of each other; smooth out the layers to create creases on the left and right edges. Floral Toile Black and White 108" Cotton Wide Back Quilt Fabric. But how do you know which ones will work well in your APQS longarm quilting machine? Oct 8, 2013 - Click here to sign up for more fun and free quilt alongs!! © 2016-2021 APQS. Your next quilt back is a great place to try something new. You can read my full disclosure privacy policy here. Dream Weaver Dark Blue 108" Cotton Wide Back Quilt Fabric by Deborah Edwards. The backs were made with a big long piece of one fabric seamed together. My pieced backs became more complicated. I've done a range of things with the backs of my quilts. The seam will lay along the length of the backing roller, keeping the backing flat. But as I continued making quilts, I had more and more fabric leftover and I started thinking about my grandmother’s pieced quilt backs. Again, it’s just the back. Lori’s 4 Simple Rules for Making Your Own Pieced Quilt Backing Fabric: The completed pieced back must lay flat, with no lumps or bumps. For example, if the front will be machine washable and dryable, the back should be also. Make the back of your quilt as fantastic as the front with these easy techniques for pieced quilt backings - so easy, in fact, you can complete most of them in an afternoon. If I had a piece of fabric that didn’t quite go with the rest of the fabrics, I cut it in pieces and put it in a number of places on the back. Thieves will remove the label if possible to hide the original creator's identity. Login to post a comment. Instead of cutting two separate pieces of fabric and sewing them together, you cut one long piece, fold it together and then sew right down one side. I have a little "cheater" disclaimer here. Start at whatever level is comfortable to you and make a pieced back. 2 yards) and then use scraps to fill in the rest of the needed width. I am trying to renew subscription to Quilting Aets magazine -Imade an unsuccessful attempt yesterday. My first pieced quilt backs were simple squares sewn together in rows just like my grandmother had done. Without thinking (and I do know better!) Cookie Statement | Terms & Conditions | Subscription Alert – Unauthorized Agents. NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. I usually measure the length of the quilt and add 8”, and then measure the width and add 8”. The number one thing I do these days is that I piece my label into the back. Back then, it was just a binder with each block hand drawn and indexed into her newly developed system. I like to use the leftover fabrics from the front of the quilt, then add fabrics and blocks from my stash, trying to stay with the general color scheme of the front of the quilt. How about you? See how much nicer the seam behaves when pressed open as it wraps around the roller? Threads are like candy to the longarm quilter’s soul. This technique puts some friction on the backing … For example, if the front will be machine washable and dryable, the back should be also. Here are a few ideas of how to do this: I'll fold a quilt … When you have to piece the back for a quilt, is it okay to just join in the middle or should it be done in thirds. What threads can I use with my APQS machine? If you do not see the email, please check your junk or spam folder. Check out our pieced quilt back selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. Voila! We do our best to have straight seam lines, accurate piecing, and smooth pressing. It’s lovely when I have the luxury of actually owning those 4+ yards that large quilts need and can whip out a quilt back … My friend, Missy, makes the most perfectly matched pieced quilt backs! The first edition of this pattern-identification book was originally self-published by the legendary Barbara Brackman in 1993. Pieced Quilt Backs. SecureTrust Trusted Commerce - Click to Validate. depending on the size of your quilt. Are you ready to try? Using the same fabric for the whole back, you would need anywhere from 3.5 to 5 yards (or even more!) But I’ll warn you: sometimes the back is so wonderful it’s hard to decide which is the back and which is the front. Piece together fabric squares and strips to create a one-of-a-kind quilt back. Dawn Cavanaugh is Customer Service & Education Director at APQS. Nov 15, 2019 - When you complete the front of your quilt, you are ready to sew the back. Calling all quilters: Now is our time to help our communities! Press seams open to keep bulk to a minimum. The photos and her description of what was going through her mind as she made design choices are very instructive. She used leftovers from garment sewing and the “good” pieces of fabric from worn-out clothing. I audition possible fabrics and blocks as I sew, moving the bits and pieces according to what I find pleasing to my eye. To create a fun pieced back to your quilt, I just buy one length of fabric (the length of your quilt, approx. My design wall is a critical part of making a pieced back. Quilters Newsletter April May 2016 Digital Edition. © Copyright 2021 Golden Peak Media. All rights reserved. Pieced quilts will prevail as a focal point in your bedroom. The desired length of the back goes in to the formula as LQ=66 John likes to use a ½” seam allowance, pressed open, for his quilt backs, so add 1” to the quilt back width. The photo below shows how quickly backing seams pressed to one side will build up on the roller, creating wrinkles and potential distortion. Use the quilter's requirements for backing size if you plan to send the project to someone else for quilting. There are so many colors, sizes, textures and styles to choose from. How to piece quilt backs May 31, 2016 We quilters spend hours and hours choosing fabric for our quilt tops trying to find just the perfect pattern or shade, and even longer cutting out the fabric and piecing it together. My motivation when I made those first pieced backs was simply to save money and to gain some control over the amount of fabric I was accumulating. I decided it was time to give pieced backs a try. If you have to seam backing pieces together and you’re quilting on a longarm frame, a horizontal seam will be SO much easier to load! You will be logged in automatically and a confirmation email with a password will be sent to your email address. Schau dir unsere Auswahl an pieced quilt back an, um die tollsten einzigartigen oder spezialgefertigten, handgemachten Stücke aus unseren Shops zu finden. Fabric panels must be pieced together to create a backing for large quilts, although some fabric manufacturers offer a nice selection of wide backing fabrics that allow us to have a seamless back. The Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns (Third Edition) is an essential for quilters of all levels and interests — and it has a great story. Then I trim off the selvedges and press the seams open. But instead of piecing two equal widths of fabric using a single seam down the backing center, use this trick to give you a full width of fabric in the center and partial widths on each side of it. You’ll end up with two seams instead of one, but you won’t have to worry about the center of the backing wearing prematurely no matter which way you load the backing on the frame. Make the back of your quilt as fantastic as the front with these easy techniques for pieced quilt backings - so easy, in fact, you can complete most of them in an afternoon For my quick tip, I wanted to share with you my quick and dirty way that I sew together backings for quilts that are made from a single large yardage cut of fabric. This pieced backing creates a strong linear design with strips of fabric in varying widths. Hi everyone! Today's video is going to show you how to do a simple pieced quilt backing. I have been steadily working for the last 6 months to finish up a project that’s going to be published in a book. When possible I use 1/2" seams for piecing the long straight seams of my backing. My creativity kicked in and I started experimenting. Place your two fabric lengths with right sides together and sew down EACH side along the length of the strips. Since I am on vacation this week, I haven't actually had… May 31, 2011 by Ebony Love. I bought just one length of quilt backing fabric (if the quilt was 90˝ x 90˝, I’d buy 98˝ of 40˝ to 42˝-wide fabric) and see what I could incorporate to make that one length of fabric be enough for the entire back. If it doesn’t work out quite like you had in mind, you can use it anyway; after all, it’s just the back. Not only do wide backs save time at the sewing machine, they can also save time at the quilting machine! The seams need to be at least 1/4˝ wide for durability. I like asymmetry and odd numbers of blocks and parts. But your quilt backs don't have to be simple! Today I will show you two different ways to make a pieced quilt backing: (1) All from one fabric, or (2) from scraps and chunks. Often one chooses a printed or solid fabric that goes with the front, or you can take the traditional route of using plain muslin. Two seams, but no seam in the center to wear out your quilt before its time no matter which way you choose to load it on your longarm! To learn more or change your cookie settings, please read our cookie policy. They were always scrap quilts; she wouldn’t have dreamed of buying fabric to make a quilt. You must Register or $8.85 - $17.70. You can make a simple quilt back from one fabric pieced large enough or you can get creative. My preference is to put the seam anywhere but the center of the quilt back. When the backing doesn’t have seams, loading it on the frame is much faster–plus there’s less risk of puckers and distortion caused by multiple seams wrapping around the backing roller. Rather than take a poorly sewn block apart, I said, “The points don’t match, I’ll just put it on the back where it doesn’t matter.” I added pieces of vintage hand embroidery and samples of machine embroidery. The seams need to be at least 1/4˝ wide for durability. Then I sew, cut and rearrange again. 5 Things from May/June That Made Us Go WOW! I used different sizes of squares or rectangles together on the back of one quilt. I recently asked her how she does it. Wide backing is typically 108 inches wide, making it ideal for large, queen-size quilts. I remember the quilts my grandmother made. How to Make a Diagonally Pieced Quilt Back. I came up with a backing measurement of 54″ x 60.” The thing I like about pieced quilt backs is that it’s almost like making another quilt top. From the Vault: This feature was originally published in the April/May 2016 issue of Quilters Newsletter. Over the years the selection has grown from a handful of choices to several hundred different prints and colors. You want your quilt back to be 51” x 66”. Unfortunately quilts do get lost sometimes or even stolen. If you are having trouble with your thread breaking on a recent project, use our step-by-step process to eliminate the obvious suspects before calling in the big dogs! Because she was a thrifty woman, she always pieced her quilt backs, making them out of 10˝–12˝ squares of fabric, sewn together in rows. The third option is to sew a back using scraps of the fabrics you used in piecing the front, in a pattern that refers, however obliquely, to your quilt pattern. Piecing the strips with diagonal seams provides even more movement. As you can see by the small pile on the floor the length of the red is much longer than needed. This website uses cookies for analytics, personalization and advertising. It's a fun surprise when you turn back the … Thank you.. 7. Northcott Fabrics. Your finished back must lay flat after you sew the pieces together; The finished back needs to be 3 to 4″ bigger on all sides than the top if you are going to have it longarm quilted; Please avoid making a seam that will fall near the edge of the quilt top when placed on top of it. It wraps around the roller, then toss the excess up and over the pick-up roller across frame.: https: //www.quiltingcompany.com/contact-us/ for Missy what I find pleasing to my eye today video. 66 ” a critical part of making a pieced back must lay flat, with lumps! 'Ve quilted for Missy care as the fabrics used for the back should be offset from backs! Large enough or you can get in touch: https: //www.quiltingcompany.com/contact-us/: this feature was originally self-published the. 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