You've pieced the last block, sewn the final seam, and stepped back to admire your quilt top. Congratulations!
But before your quilt can become a finished quilt, there are a few important steps that will help ensure a smooth longarm quilting experience and the best possible results. Proper preparation can prevent delays, improve quilting quality, and help your longarm quilter bring your vision to life.
Proper preparation not only helps your quilt load smoothly onto the frame, it also allows your longarm quilter to focus on creating beautiful quilting rather than spending time correcting preventable issues.
Whether you're sending your quilt to a longarmer for the first time or you've done it dozens of times before, a little preparation goes a long way.
Step 1: Give Your Quilt Top a Final Inspection
Things to check:
- Open seams located and repaired
- Missed stitches reinforced
- Loose threads trimmed
- Problem areas identified and corrected (puckers, upside down blocks, etc)
- Foundation paper removed
- Borders are lying flat
It's much easier to fix a small issue while the quilt is still on your sewing table than after it's loaded onto the longarm.
Step 2: Press Your Quilt Top
Now is the time to give your finished quilt top a good pressing to insure all seams are set and wrinkles removed.
Remember, press, don't iron. Ironing involves moving the iron back and forth across the fabric and can result in distortion of your quilt blocks. Pressing, on the other hand, involves a simple motion of lifting and lowering the iron to press seams flat and remove any wrinkles without distorting your quilt block.
Flat seams matter. Flat seams remove extra bulk and allow your quilt blocks to lie nice and flat resulting in a nice even surface when placed on the longarm. Rumpled seams run a greater chance of breaking a needle, snagging, or leaving a pucker.
WVQ Tip: Press both your quilt top and backing before delivery. Wrinkles and folds can become more noticeable once quilting begins.
Step 3: Prepare Your Backing
The state of your quilt backing is just as important as your quilt top.
For best results on a longarm, your backing needs to be at least four (4) inches larger on all sides than your quilt top.
Example:
For a 60" x 70" quilt, your backing should ideally measure at least 68" x 78".
When piecing sections of backing fabric together, remove the selvedges where fabric will be joined by a seam. Selvedges create extra bulk during the quilting process. If possible, run seams horizontally across the quilt backing. Horizontal seams load the nicest on the longarm frame.
Avoid piecing backing seams diagonally whenever possible. While beautiful on a finished quilt back, diagonal seams can stretch more easily and may create challenges when loading the quilt on the frame.
Give your backing a good press to remove wrinkles. Make sure all your seams are pressed open.
Keep your backing fabric as square as possible.
Step 4: Choose Your Batting
Batting is available in ready cut packages and by the yard. Here at West Valley Quilting, we offer batting by the yard.
Batting choices include:
- 100% Cotton – Traditional look with minimal loft and excellent stitch definition.
- 80/20 Cotton/Poly Blend – A popular choice that combines the natural feel of cotton with a bit more loft.
- Bamboo – Lightweight with beautiful drape and a soft feel.
- Wool – Lightweight yet warm, with excellent loft that makes quilting designs stand out.
Not sure what batting would be best for your quilt, let's have a conversation.
Step 5: Think About Quilting Design
Choosing a quilting design is a personal decision influenced heavily by personal preference and how the quilt will be used.
Points to ponder:
- Dense vs open quilting - A quilt with a dense design will hold up to heavy washing, but will also be heavier and stiffer due to the amount of stitching. A more open quilting design will give the quilt more drape.
- Modern vs traditional designs - There are tens of thousands of digital quilting designs available. They range from very traditional to the very modern. What you choose will be influenced by personal preference, fabric theme, quilt pattern and the purpose of the quilt.
- Thread color - Do you want the quilting to catch the eye or blend into the fabric? Do you like variegated thread or do you prefer a solid? A good longarm quilter will have a discussion with you about thread color.
Here at West Valley Quilting, we like to spend time to explore our customers preferences. A typical drop-off appointment will be about 30 minutes. This allows time to choose a batting, pick out a digital design, and explore thread options. By the time you get your quilt to the longarm quilter, you've invested a lot of time and money into your quilt top. We want to make sure we are fulfilling your vision.
Step 6: Label and Mark Special Instructions
To ensure there is no confusion for your longarm quilter, be sure to mark the top edge of your quilt top and your backing. If there are areas you think need extra extra care, point them out. If you expect your longarm quilter to stitch around a particular area of a quilt, mark that for them.
Most longarm quilters are conscientious and will do their very best to treat your quilt as their own. But, they are also human. Give them as much information as you can to help them meet your expectations and insure a good experience for you.
Step 7: Deliver Your Quilt
You should now be ready to deliver your quilt to the longarm quilter.
Every quilt tells a story, and longarm quilting is one of the final steps that brings that story to life. Taking a little extra time to prepare your quilt top and backing helps ensure the quilting process goes smoothly and allows your finished quilt to look its very best.
If you're looking for longarm quilting services, we'd love to help. At West Valley Quilting, we work with quilters of all experience levels and are happy to answer questions about batting, backing, quilting designs, and preparing your quilt for the machine.
After all, you've already done the hard part—now let's get that quilt finished!