Prepping Your Quilt for Longarming

Below you will find information on how to prep your top and backing for quilting.

How to prep your top

Give it a good press. You want your seams nice and flat.
Trim all loose threads. They can show through any light colored fabrics which would be a shame when you have gone to so much trouble creating your beautiful top!
It is a good idea to run a stitching line around the perimeter of the quilt, about 1/8" from the edge. (Commonly called a victory lap!) This will keep any seams from starting to unravel in shipping as well as preventing stretching during quilting. Be sure to keep this within the seam allowance that will be covered with the binding.
Mark the top edge with painter's tape or a safety pinned note. Do this even if it seems obvious which is the top edge.

Your backing must be a minimum of 8 inches longer and 8 inches wider than the top. This is needed so that it can be attached to the longarm.
- As an example, if you top is 60" x 80", your backing must be at least 68" x 88".
If you need to piece your backing, use 1/2" seams and press them open.
Trim loose threads.
It is usually not necessary to sew a victory lap around the backing.
Mark the top edge with painter's tape or a safety pinned note. Do this even if it seems obvious which is the top edge.

Batting should be a high quality backing such as what you would purchase from a local quilt shop. Low quality, or "bargain" batting may not be suitable for a longarm.
As with the backing, your batting must be a minimum of 8 inches longer and 8 inches wider than the top.
- As an example, if your top is 60" x 80", your batting must be at least 68" x 88".
Do not pin or baste the layers together. All three layers (top, batting & backing) must be separate for loading on the longarm.
You can purchase high quality batting from me. This is included on the Book Your Quilt form.