Quilt backing has creases quilted into it

by Karen Barlow
(Vista, CA USA)

I just finished quilting my friends quilt.

The entire quilt was perfectly quilted on the front, but the back of the quilt had an area about 5 inch square with a crease in it.

I removed much of the quilt stitching in the area, tacked it down by hand, and then quilted over it to minimize the crease. I do not know why it creased. The rest of the quilt back and front looks great. I do not want this to happen again, can you tell me what I did wrong?

I quilted it on a short arm with an Inspira quilt frame, if that information helps. Thanks so much for your help.

Reply

For some reason, there was extra backing fabric in that spot. That's what caused the crease.

I do not quilt on a frame, but just on my regular old domestic sewing machine in its table. With a domestic machine, the quilter moves the quilt, the needle is stationary. On a frame, the quilt is stationary and the needle moves along with the machine head.

A domestic quilter must baste the layers of the sandwich together. To avoid tucks on the back, the backing fabric must be pulled taut, not stretched, and then secured down with tape or clamps to hold it in place during the basting process.

On a frame system, the backing is rolled onto a bar. To avoid tucks, be sure that the backing is rolled smoothly, evenly and straight onto the bar. Rolling it crooked could cause some stretching on the bias. When it is clamped from the side, again, make sure the tension/pull on the clamps is even.

Now it sounds like you've mastered your frame system. Congratulations!

So to avoid tucks in the future, consider putting a long mirror (which you can get cheaply at Target or Walmart), you know the ones for the back of a door. Put that under your frame on the floor, maybe angling it up slightly on the side away from you. Then you can easily see the back of the quilt as you are quilting without having to get down on your hands and knees all the time. Remember to check frequently.

That way, if tucks are starting on the back you can see them and adjust before going any further.

Let me know if this helps.

I'd love to see your quilts! Why not post some of your quilt pictures in our online Show and Tell for us to see!

Thank you for your question.
Piecefully,

Julie Baird
Editor

This article was printed from Generations-Quilt-Patterns.com