Courtenay, BC
 Canada

Preparing your Quilt Top for Quilting

• Do not baste your quilt sandwich, bring as 3 separate items - top, batting & backing
• The quilt backing and batting should be squared and at least 3 inches larger on all 4 sides!!
• If you have pieced borders or pieced blocks right to the edges of your quilt it is best to stabilize the edges with stay stitching l/8” to l/4” from the edge prior to quilting. This will ensure that the pieced seams do not pull apart during the quilting process.
• The quilt top should be free of embellishments, such as buttons, charms, pins, etc.
• The quilt top and backing should be clipped of loose threads, both front and back that could cause snags and uneven stitching.
• Both top and backing should be carefully pressed.  A final pressing is given to remove fold marks before mounting on the machine.
• Remove selvedge edges on backing and make sure it is square. If  the backing requires seaming, remove selvedges first. Press seam open. Do not serge seams.
• If  you are using sheets for backing they should be less than 180 thread count and washed and dried several times. This will soften the sheets and prevent skipped stitches.
• When choosing the fabric for your backing think of the color thread that will be used in quilting the top. If  you want the quilting on the backing to be subtle then choose a color or print that will blend with the color of the top thread. However, if you want the quilting to stand out on the back then choose a fabric that will contrast with the thread color.
• Custom quilting can have many stops and starts and a busy backing fabric tends to hide these beginnings and endings.

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