Preparing your Quilt for the Longarmer
It’s time…. You’ve picked the pattern, the fabric, the thread; you’ve cut the fabric, and now you’ve sewn it back together. Congratulations! I’m sure your quilt top looks amazing. Now, let’s get it over the finish line shall we? Before you send or bring your quilt top to me there are a couple of things you can do to make sure the finished product is as great as you imagined.
Clip those unruly threads!
Any loose threads on the top of your quilt top should be clipped. This will make for a nice neat quilt when finished. Any excessive fraying or loose threads on the back of your quilt top should be clipped as well, this is especially the case if you have a light fabric and dark threads. Once the quilt is quilted, dark threads will show through on light fabric and after you’ve put this much love into it, why not take the extra time?
Pretty Quilt Photo Break: Choosing a solid fabric for your backing is a great way to show off the quilting! You can go simple and match the threads for a cool textured look, or make a statement with a contrasting thread color. It’s your quilt! You do you!
Press your Quilt top:
I know…. It’s a lot bigger and more awkward than pressing individual blocks or rows, but this is a critical step. Nice crisp quilt tops ensure it will lay flat on the longarm and will ensure you won’t have any tucks or puckers. Once you’ve finished pressing the quilt top, fold it neatly to the width of a hanger and hang it safely out of the way, or if you are shipping it, to the width of your box.
Preparing your Backing:
Backings can be anything from a single piece of fabric, wide back or something pieced. Longarmers prefer that any seams run horizontal on your backing material, this just makes for a cleaner, square load. If that’s not possible, it is important that your backing is square.
Your backing material should be at least 3” bigger on each side (a total of 6” longer and 6” wider than your quilt top). This will ensure there is room to pin it to the leaders and clamp the sides to keep everything straight and square.
Quilting cotton, Fireside or Minky are all preferred. If you do use a sheet, please ensure that it’s a high thread count, laundered (or new), and that any seamed edges are removed. Vertical seams will impact the ability to load the sheet squarely. I do not accept any materials that are not clean, or made of quilting grade materials.
Probably the most complex backing I’ve loaded on the longarm. Pieced backings are a great addition to a quilt and they load on the longarm just fine if the seams are square like this one. Challenge yourself! Use your scrap fabric.
That’s all there is to it. Your work is done (Until the binding of course).
Let me know if you have any questions. I’m always here to help!