Not All Backings Are Created Equal, or Square

Why do I want 5” extra on all sides? So many others ask for just 4” or less…

Well, in all my years of loading my longarm machine, one thing is almost always true. Not all backings are exactly square.  Even those wonderful 108” backings can be wonky.

To ensure a back that is as beautifully quilted as the top, a truly square backing is necessary to prevent unseen (literally, it’s underneath the machine, but I try not to crawl underneath there if I don’t have to) puckers, folds, and other mishaps.

In this first picture, this 108” wide back was not perfectly square. You can see as it hangs, the fabric is off a little bit. With some finesse with the leaders and other tricks, I did eventually get it perfectly flat and it quilted out without a lot of adjustment. The extra inches allowed me to take up and let out where needed to get that perfectly loaded backing. I do not charge for this. This is simply me making sure I can get it the way I like it on my machine to do the best job I can.

The second picture was a wide back that was cut too small and not square. I had to add additional fabric onto one side to get the length I needed to then investigate how best to square it to get it loaded on my machine. The client gave me a backing that had only 2” additional on each side. Once I added one leader, and got the backing folded square, you can see that the backing was as much as 3.5” off. So, it got squared and another strip of fabric was added to get it loaded onto my machine. This is the second extreme and a situation where I would call and give the client the option to square it and/or add fabric, or offer to do it for them at an hourly rate + fabric cost.

Many, though, fall into that middle ground. Off an inch here or there. When you give me 5” extra on each side, and your quilt falls into that middle ground, I’m not going to call or charge you any extra. I will have the extra leeway to get it loaded, or, if I have to, take it off my machine and square it, knowing that I should have a good 3-4” on each side to get the backing loaded. No charge… So, go ahead and cut that backing with 5” extra on each side (or think of it as 10” total to the width AND to the length). 

If you’re really not sure about squaring it up or don’t have the space to really lay it out flat to get it square, talk to me. With ample yardage, my rate to square a backing is $10. Rather than having to call you and figure out how we are going to add fabric back, in order to make it square, this will save you the headache. In addition, I am happy to send any trimmed yardage back to you.