long arm quilting ?
09-21-2014, 12:13 PM
#11
Power Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Georgia
Posts: 11,189
You are fine. I've cut myself short of the recommended 3" per side and (actually only had a combined 3" on the top and bottom) and didn't run short. I would never recommend anyone cutting it that close I was lucky and will never temp fate again.
09-22-2014, 04:32 AM
#13
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Location: NY
Posts: 10,590
My personal preference is 5" per side to allow room for:
1. Attaching to leaders and clamping sides
2. to allow room for an out of square quilt top
3. To have room on the side to test tension
4. If using my ruler base I need the extra room on the sides so my ruler base doesn't interfere with my side clamp. In cases where I have received too narrow a backing I have to remove the clamp while quilting close to the edges.
That said I have had plenty of backs come through that give me MUCH less. I think the least I had was 2" per side. On that one I was forced to sew a strip of my own fabric to the back so I had room top to bottom for my leaders as 2" was just not enough and the sides allowed me darn little wiggle room. I did it but I was not a happy camper.
Contact your LA quilter and ask what her preferences are. In most cases it is fine to simply sew some strips of muslin or any scrap fabric you have to get up to the needed size for attaching to leaders and side clamps. Just make sure you tell your quilter that you did that only to get the backing up to size and you don't want any of it incorporated into the finished quilt. I think all but the very greenest of LAQ can accommodate that.
1. Attaching to leaders and clamping sides
2. to allow room for an out of square quilt top
3. To have room on the side to test tension
4. If using my ruler base I need the extra room on the sides so my ruler base doesn't interfere with my side clamp. In cases where I have received too narrow a backing I have to remove the clamp while quilting close to the edges.
That said I have had plenty of backs come through that give me MUCH less. I think the least I had was 2" per side. On that one I was forced to sew a strip of my own fabric to the back so I had room top to bottom for my leaders as 2" was just not enough and the sides allowed me darn little wiggle room. I did it but I was not a happy camper.
Contact your LA quilter and ask what her preferences are. In most cases it is fine to simply sew some strips of muslin or any scrap fabric you have to get up to the needed size for attaching to leaders and side clamps. Just make sure you tell your quilter that you did that only to get the backing up to size and you don't want any of it incorporated into the finished quilt. I think all but the very greenest of LAQ can accommodate that.
09-22-2014, 05:19 AM
#15
Power Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SoCal
Posts: 12,028
That would work for me. The sides could even be less. If the length is too short to load, I add a strip both on the top and bottom but this is an extra charge.
Last edited by Annaquilts; 09-22-2014 at 05:24 AM.
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