Getting your quilt ready for free-motion quilting

What’s a Backing in a quilt?

The backing is the fabric that will show in the back of your quilt. Chose a fabric that pleasant and goes well with the front-top. Never think for a moment that backing should be dull because nobody will ever see it. Sometimes your quilting can be viewed from the back as well as in the front. Also, have in mind that your backing should at least have an additional 2"-4" wider, to compensate for the movement during the quilting.

Preparation:

• Prewashed and pressed the fabric.
  
• Layout the backing on a clean floor, or if you have two tables, set them together and lay the backing on it.
  
• Secured edges on the tables by using painters tape.

  Backing taped on my two tables

Where’s the Batting in a quilt?

Batting is what goes in the center of your quilt and gives it the form and softness, depending on the bating you'll be using. There are many types of batting available on the market and I'm not going to be specific on any of them for now.

At the beginning of my quilting years, I used mostly polyester, because that's what everyone did, but now it's your preference, project, and tag price that will dictate what you want to use. For this quilt, I'm using 80% cotton, 20% poly.  As the backing, you'll need an additional 2"-4" batting wider than your top.

Preparation:

• Follow the company recommendation.
  
• Lay flat on top of the backing.
  

Quilt Top

Your quilt top is the showcase of your ideas or followed pattern. The rows should be aligned vertically and horizontally so that it would reflect the top-quilt as a whole. Some quilt design does not have rows, but they do have a pattern.

Preparation:

• Washed
  
• Starch and pressed.
  
• Lay on top of backing/batting
  

Notice that the backing and batting are at least 2-3" bigger wider than my top-quilt. Before pinning or basting, I passed my hands over the layers many times, to remove any wrinkles.

How to keep it all together?

There are many different methods to keep the three layers together. These are the few I've used in the past.

• Baste by hand with thread.
  
• Spray baste. Costly if you have many quilts. Also, need to be done in a well-aired area.
  
• Pinning. Use bend safety-pins and fasten with a Kwik Klip.

  For this quilt, I'll be using safety pins and the Kwick Klip.

After you insert the safety pin through all the layer, you take the Kwick Klip to facilitate the closing of the pin. There can be at least 100 pins, if not more for a quilt.  

 All pinned out and ready to quilt. I haven't used this method in ten years, because I started using spray baste, which I loved, but my husband retired last year and I'm not working at the moment. So very low in cash pocket. Spray baste product is kinda costly.  So yep, I'm back in using bend safety pins.

Will you look at that! Even if I stretch it, taped it, and pinned it. There are still wrinkles that appeared in the back of my quilt!  No worry, as I quilt my top, I usually "petted" the fabric away from the center from where I'm quilting.

Now, it's your turn to go prepare a quilt.