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Should I Use Several Skinny Strips? (Moderated by Sharon1952)
Posted on: 7/5/13 9:40 PM ET
I'm conjuring up a backing for a 36 inch square baby quilt and I can use some advice.
Usually, I would piece the backing with just 2 or 3 pieces of fabric in wider widths to get to the 40 inches I need for the backing.
But I'm staring at these fabric strips that are from 3 inches to 7 inches wide and I'm thinking....would it be a bad idea to try to make up the backing, using several strips? Will the multiple seam allowances generated by my plan give me a big, fat headache when I get to the machine quilting part of this journey?
Have you ever pieced a backing with multiple "skinny" and "fatter" strips of fabric? And if you did, how did those pesky seam allowances work out?
Kippy
Usually, I would piece the backing with just 2 or 3 pieces of fabric in wider widths to get to the 40 inches I need for the backing.
But I'm staring at these fabric strips that are from 3 inches to 7 inches wide and I'm thinking....would it be a bad idea to try to make up the backing, using several strips? Will the multiple seam allowances generated by my plan give me a big, fat headache when I get to the machine quilting part of this journey?
Have you ever pieced a backing with multiple "skinny" and "fatter" strips of fabric? And if you did, how did those pesky seam allowances work out?
Kippy
Posted on: 7/5/13 10:09 PM ET
In reply to Kippysan
You can make the back with smaller pieces - if you have seen full-sized quilts they often have lots of smaller pieces, in fact, Portland posted one the other day.
I have done this and if you were hand-quilting it might be a problem, but with machine quilting it shouldn't be a problem.
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I have done this and if you were hand-quilting it might be a problem, but with machine quilting it shouldn't be a problem.
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Barb
Posted on: 7/5/13 10:26 PM ET
In reply to Franksdottir
Okay. And I should still use 1/2 inch seam allowances? Right?
Kippy
Kippy
Posted on: 7/5/13 10:45 PM ET
In reply to Kippysan
I usually use quarter inch seam allowances, but you can use whatever you want. I promise the Quilt Police will not invade your house and stand over you like my Home Ec teacher did to me.
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Barb
Posted on: 7/5/13 11:00 PM ET
Unless you have cheesecake, in which case they *might* come to your house. Do you have cheesecake?
Posted on: 7/6/13 0:18 AM ET




For sure I'll come for Cheesecake!!! But, only if it's NY Style and plain!hmm I recently saw a quilt where they had used left over strips going into the back... where o where -- Bet if you google strip piece Backs of quilts - You will be sure to see too many :-) But always good for ideas!
I don't think on machine quilting it will matter one lick - that machine is powering through the top, batting and the bottom so what's a few seams on the bottom after all that batting???
Good luck and let us see what you find on how to do it!!
:-Debbie
Edited -- I watched this one to see how to add strips to an outer border - I suppose same way you could use to the back??
Pierced Strips Border She begins the strip sets at 2:51 on the clock :-)
Hope that helps!
over and to bed
-- Edited on 7/6/13 0:23 AM --
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I have a great enthusium for sewing, but lack talent to be great.
2013
2013
Posted on: 7/6/13 8:40 AM ET
Ohhhhh. I get it. Don't worry about the number of seams on the back of the quilt - you might have a kazillion on the front. It comes out to the same thing.
So, I'm off to piece the backing using skinny and fat strips. It will be a work of art, I'm sure. Yahoooooo!
No cheesecake here. But I did happen to find a box of brand new springform pans in the basement last week. So I could make a cheesecake. If I had the time. If I wasn't working on 8 baby quilts because everybody is having a baby at the same time. Whew!
Thanks everybody,
Kippy
So, I'm off to piece the backing using skinny and fat strips. It will be a work of art, I'm sure. Yahoooooo!
No cheesecake here. But I did happen to find a box of brand new springform pans in the basement last week. So I could make a cheesecake. If I had the time. If I wasn't working on 8 baby quilts because everybody is having a baby at the same time. Whew!
Thanks everybody,
Kippy
Posted on: 7/6/13 9:08 AM ET
I was focusing on your baby quilt backing but now you have me obsessing over cheesecake!
Posted on: 7/6/13 9:20 AM ET
In reply to Adaire
Oh boy, now I know what the quilt label is going to look like...........
a big old Cheesecake! As Muffett would say --
Hahahahahahaha!!
So the mother of the baby looks puzzled when she sees the label.....so what?
Hahahahahahaha!!
I think I'm losing it.........must be the heat......but you wouldn't know about that.....down in Florida.........
Kippy


a big old Cheesecake! As Muffett would say --
Hahahahahahaha!!
So the mother of the baby looks puzzled when she sees the label.....so what?
Hahahahahahaha!!
I think I'm losing it.........must be the heat......but you wouldn't know about that.....down in Florida.........
Kippy


Posted on: 7/6/13 10:25 AM ET
I've been seeing more and more pieced quilt backs. I like them.
I seem to recall that the only caution was to try not to have too many seams on top of each other for long distances. For example if you have a seam running in a line top to bottom (or side to side), you'd try to have the backing seam to one side of that. But maybe that was for hand quilting?
I wonder how much danger there is from seams pulling apart if they were stacked for a long distance. Esp. a quilt that was hung and had stacked side to side seams.
edited to add - I'm wondering about big quilts that are hung up, not small ones.
-- Edited on 7/6/13 10:27 AM --
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I seem to recall that the only caution was to try not to have too many seams on top of each other for long distances. For example if you have a seam running in a line top to bottom (or side to side), you'd try to have the backing seam to one side of that. But maybe that was for hand quilting?
I wonder how much danger there is from seams pulling apart if they were stacked for a long distance. Esp. a quilt that was hung and had stacked side to side seams.
edited to add - I'm wondering about big quilts that are hung up, not small ones.
-- Edited on 7/6/13 10:27 AM --
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