6 Tips for a Successful Longarming Experience

  1. The backing should be 4″ larger than the quilt top on each edge, so that there is enough fabric to attach to the leaders and clamps. That means a total of 8″ longer, and 8″ wider than the top.
  2. If you want the backing/quilt top oriented in a particular direction, mark the top of both parts with a pinned note. Same if you want something centered on the backing – include a clear note.
  3. Backing seams, when possible, should be 1/2″ wide and pressed open. If you are using pieced blocks as part of the backing the 1/4″ seams are fine, but 1/2″ seams will provide less bulk when it is possible to use them.
  4. Cut off your selvedges in the seams.  Selvedge along the outer edge of the backing is fine – in fact, it is wonderful to be able to use perfectly straight selvedge edges to attach the quilt back to the leaders.  But in your seams, make sure you trim the selvedge on the backing, just as you would when piecing the front of your quilt.
  5. Ensure your borders lie flat. Wavy borders (due to border strips being too long) or puffy quilt centers (due to borders being too short) make for difficult challenges during quilting.
  6. Trim loose threads.  Once they’ve been quilted over those stray threads are hard to remove, so clear as many as you can from the seam lines on both the front and back of your quilt.