Preparing Your Quilt

Teaming Up for a Great Finish

Make sure your quilt top is well pressed and seams are flattened. Seams should be pressed flat not pressed open.
If your quilt does not have borders, anchor the outside edges all the way around the quilt with a 1/8”-1/4” stitching line.
Trim all hanging threads from the back and edge.
Keep in mind, quilting does not correct piecing problems. If there is fullness in the center or wavy borders, you could wind up with pleats or puckers. We will evaluate each quilt during the initial consultation and discuss any needed remedies.
Quilts must be clean and free of offensive odors.
Identify the top of your quilt and backing with a safety pin if it has a directional print.
If you want curved corners, please wait until the quilting is finished to cut the curves. Proper attachment of the quilt to the long-arm machine depends on straight, square corners.

Clients may supply their own matching backing or purchase through Pieceful Pastimes Quilting.
The backing fabric should be 100% cotton fabric.
If you piece your backing fabric, it is important remove any selvages before you sew the pieces together as they shrink at a different rate than the rest of the fabric and will cause puckers along the seam.
We do not recommend the use of flat sheets for backing. If you really want to use a sheet, please be sure that the thread count is no more than 180 and wash and dry it at least five times.
If the backing fabric isn’t big enough and needs to be pieced, please use a 5/8″ seam to piece the backing. Press the seam open. · The backing must be at least eight inches larger in length and width than the top.
Please press the backing fabric.

Both batting and backing need to be a minimum of 8″ wider and 8″ longer than your top. The extra allows me to have the needed room to attach your quilt to the frame, and you get all the extra back.
My preferred batting is Quilters Dream Select 80/20 batting, but we also offer 100% cotton batting, polyester or wool batting as well as other blends.
You may supply the batting or purchase it from Pieceful Pastimes Quilting. The price of the batting is dependent on the size needed and the type of batting selected.
If you do bring your own batting, please bear in mind there are certain batting types that will not work well on a longarm frame. We want you to enjoy your quality crafted quilt for many, many years, so it is important that we work together to select a quality batting that works well with the longarm machine and meets your budget needs.