Quilt Preparation
It is very important that your Quilt Top, Wadding and Backing
have been prepared properly to ensure a great finish to your quilt.
Following are some steps as a guide to ensure a great finish to your work.
The better you prepare your quilt, the better it will be when completed.
Ensure all your seams are secure and your threads are clipped. Unclipped threads can show through.
Iron seam allowances to leave the least bulk at the seams, extra bulk can causes bumpy quilting and may skip stitches. Give your quilt top and backing a good press.
Please do not pin or baste your quilt as each layer is attached separately. Do not layer together your top, wadding (batting) and backing as each layer needs to be loaded separately onto the quilting frame.
Backing fabric: if joining pieces remove selvage edges before stitching the seam, use at least a ½ inch seam allowance and press.
Backing and wadding (batting) must be at least 4 inches wider on each side, top and bottom than your quilt top. A total of 8 inches wider and 8 inches longer. For example if your quilt if 55 x 84 the backing and wadding should measure a minimum of 63 x 92 inches. This is very important because if the backing is not big enough it cannot be attached to the machine.
Trim the top and bottom edges of your backing so they are straight and square. This ensures the quilt loads onto the machine straight.
Diagram below shows how a quilt should sit before being placed on the machine: