How to Prepare Your Quilt for Longarm Quilting
Your quilt top will be quilted in the condition it is received.
Quilt Top
SQUARING A TOP starts when borders are added to the quilt top. In order to help ensure a square top, borders must be attached properly. Excess fabric will cause the outside of the quilt not to lay flat and may result in puckers or pleats. Information on How to Add Borders can be found on our QTIPS page.
COMPLETED TOP Make sure all seams that meet the edge are secure. For example, if you have sewn a border on your top, there will be four or more seams that come right to the edge of the quilt top. Pieced borders may have many seams along the edge of the quilt top. The ends of these seams need to be back-tacked so they will not open when the top is stretched for quilting.
ANCHOR ALL SEAMS that will remain on the outside of the border. As the quilt is handled, seams on the border will become loose and will pop open if not secured.
OUTSIDE BORDERS WITH PIECED BLOCKS, for example, flying geese, stay-stitch all the way around the edge of the quilt 1/8 of an inch. This will prevent the seams from pulling apart. Stitching with 1/8 inch will fall inside the binding.
MARK THE TOP EDGE OF YOUR QUILT if it has one, with a piece of paper safety pinned to the top edge so that quilting designs are oriented correctly.
TRIM ANY LOOSE THREADS Examine your quilt top from the front and back and cut off any trailing threads. Trailing threads on the under-side of your top may shadow through light colored areas of your quilt, creating varicose threads. We do our best to check for these, but once the quilt is quilted, these misplaced threads are almost impossible to remove.
PRESS YOUR QUILT TOP being sure not to stretch. Be sure it is wrinkle free and all seams lay flat.
Backing
THE BACK needs to measure 8″ longer and 8″ wider than your front. It should be trimmed and squared. If your backing is not square it will not roll up properly and there will be sags, bags, and puckers that are unavoidable. For example, if you quilt measures 60″ x 60″ then your backing needs to be 68″ x 68″.
If a backing fabric is pieced, use 1/2 inch seam allowances and press open. Be sure that all selvages have been removed from seams (seam allowances). If they have not, they will shrink and draw up the backing seam(s) when the quilt is later washed. Selvages are fine on the outside edges of the backing.
TRIM ANY LOOSE THREADS Be sure to check both sides of a pieced back for trailing threads that might shadow through.
WIDE BACKING FABRIC – Please supply at least an additional 12 inches (6 inches all the way around the quilt top). Wide backs can be unevenly wound on the bolt. Backings need to be “squared” to be placed on the longarm quilting frame. The squaring process does trim down the backing piece. If a wide back is uneven, it results in more fabric that needs to be trimmed.
MARK THE TOP EDGE OF YOUR BACK, if it has one with a piece of paper safety pinned to the top edge so that quilting designs are oriented correctly.
PRESS YOUR BACKING being sure not to stretch. Be sure it is wrinkle free and any seams lay flat.
