ruby2shoes

"Newbie-ness" alert here folks....I'm desperate for advice.

How do you tell if your backing isn't "smooth" enough after quilting? I'm halfway through quilting my chevron quilt with straight line stitching approximately 1.5 inches apart, filling in the chevrons, 6 rows of quilting per chevron row (blocks are 8") and am concerned that the backing seems a bit sort of bunched or "foofed" between the rows of stitching. Is it acceptable that the back isn't completely smooth/flat? If I put a bit of pull on the quilt it all flattens out a bit between the rows. Crikey, do I, should I, pull it all out and rebaste etc? I tremble at the mere thought of it. I was checking the backing every so often but it didn't really become obvious until I was about halfway done....oh dear.....what am I to do...I'm too embarassed to take it to the local Quilt Shop to ask advice...bit of a private sook! How do these pictures of my backing and stitching rows look? I'm using a 60/40 wool/poly batting.

Maureen NJ

The cotton backing will shrink a little when it is washed and if it were cotton batting, I would say you would be ok. I have not used the wool poly combo for batting, so I don't know. See what the others have to say. Looking at the pictures though, it does not look bad and I would just continue.

ckcowl

Being a "newbie" means its a learning experience, the batting is probably adding some of the poofy- ness, it still looks pretty good & there aren't any real wrinkles, tucks, areas that I would feel need to be fixed. I would not take it out. Years and numerous quilts from now you will be able or look at this one and see how far you have come, improved. If you can live with it, do so... It looks good! Don't be hard on yourself. When it's finished and laundered I bet you won't even notice chose areas.

Skhf

I would not take it out. It looks good in the picture! Smooth out the remaining backing, making sure it is basted well and continue quilting. Look forward to seeing the front of the quilt.

quilterpurpledog

First of all you would do yourself a great big favor by going to the local quilt store (not the big box store) and ask for an opinion. We all need to do that from time to time!. One question I have is this: did you sew all of your rows from the same direction? If so, you will get sort of puffiness in the batting. It is important to start the quilting process in the middle of the quilt to help distribute fullness. Perhaps you will not be faced with taking out what you have done but you might need to rethink taking out some of the basting and realigning it. Please be open to suggestion. If you keep going as you are doing you will intensify the developing problem. I wish you the best as you begin your quilting journey.

NJ Quilter

I agree with others that your photos look fine. You don't appear to have puckers/folds and probably the poly in the batting is giving you the extra 'puffiness'. No, I would not remove the quilting at this point. But yes, you MAY want to re-do the balance of your basting - at least maybe a row or two of that in your next area to be quilted to see if that has an impact. If so, then continue removing the basting; rebaste that portion of the quilt and soldier on. You will get some shrinkage with washing and I'm sure everything will look stunning when done.

bearisgray

There will be some poofiness caused by the stitching compressing the batting. It is just part of the nature of the beast.

I also don't see any wrinkles or pleats. I would leave it.

I have a a machine with a built-in walking foot, and I stitch all my rows in the same direction. My reasoning for that is that if it is going to "pull" - it will all go the same way. So far, I've only done straight-lline and stitch in the ditch quilting, but that quilting looks respectable on both sides.

Tartan

Each of your chevron rows look like they are on the bias so you are going to get a bit of puckering or poofing in the rows. As long as you don't have actual pleats sewn into the back, it is fine.

PaperPrincess

Looks just fine to me, no tucks, pleats or puckers, and it all looks consistent.
When you make your quilt sandwich you want to put a small amount of tension on the backing, which helps keep it flat.

Bree123

Being in the "better finished than perfect" crowd, I wouldn't unsew it. As others have said, it really does depend on the type of batting. I've never used a 60/40 wool poly batt, but the puffiness of polyester is definitely more difficult to quilt on a large quilt.

For the future, make sure you tape down the quilt backing to the floor (or other large flat space) & smooth out all the wrinkles. You don't want to stretch the fabric or it will relax & wrinkle once you remove the tape. Likewise, you need it a tiny bit tight to remove all the wrinkles. Start pinning in the middle & pin in quadrants. Quilt in the same manner. Yes, that means starting in the middle of your chevron row, but it really does help push those waves out to the edges as you quilt. And maybe try switching to either a 100% wool or 100% cotton batting & see if that helps. On top of that, polyester isn't breathable so it gets really sweaty to sleep under.

All that said, there's no reason to fear the vast majority of quilt shops. They are typically really nice people who are eager to help quilters of all levels. I know what it's like to be so nervous & protective of early attempts at quilting, but honestly I found the quilt shop people to be very supportive of me & I've truly learned a lot from them.