Press the Quilt Top
Give your top a good final pressing to make sure seams lie flat. Some quilters press with steam, others don’t, feeling steam may distort the top, or shrink unwashed fabric. To steam or not is up to you. But press gently. No shoving or dragging the iron as if ironing a shirt in a hurry.


Mark the Quilting Design
You don’t need to mark the quilting design on your top if you’ll be quilting “in the ditch” – inside the seam lines – or ¼ inch away from seam lines. You do need to mark if you plan a fancier design.

In earlier times, quilters often marked with small slivers of soap, or powdered materials like cinnamon, flour or cornstarch rubbed through holes in homemade or purchased quilting design patterns.

Masking tape can be used to mark long diagonal quilting lines spaced several inches apart. Then quilt along the tape. Remove it after youÆve quilted that line, and donÆt leave it on too long, or in the sun. You donÆt want sticky stuff coming off on your quilt. Using closer lines? Just eyeball them.

You’ll need to buy a pencil or quilt-marking device to mark something fancier. You can also use a regular #3 or #4 lead pencil, not a #2. You want marks visible, but as light as possible.

You can invent fancy designs by drawing around plates, bowls, glasses, cookie cutters, or even your children’s hands. Or cut cardboard shapes – hearts, squares, circles, ovals, scallops, birds or stars for example – to mark around. (Experiment first. Try overlapping the same shape, or rotating it in a circle.)

You can also purchase quilting stencils.


Quilt Backing
Your backing fabric should be the same quality, weight and fabric content as your quilt top. Have some fun, and perhaps pick a fabric you love that might surprise someone turning the quilt over. Don’t be tempted to use an old sheet. The size may be right, but sheets are hard to hand-quilt through. Besides, doesn’t your beautiful quilt top deserve more than an old sheet for a backing?

Your backing should be about 2 inches larger than the quilt top size all around. Fabric is typically 44 inches wide, minus the side selvage edges which need to be cut off. This leaves you with about 42 inches of useable fabric.

So you’ll need to piece your backing from two or more fabric lengths or widths if your quilt is wider than 36 inches. The backing seam can cross the quilt’s middle. Or you could use a full fabric width (minus the selvages) at the center, and piece in two smaller pieces at both sides.

Press your backing. If it is pieced, press seam(s) flat. Some experts use spray starch to keep the back flat as they’re layering it with batting and top.


Batting
Batting is a big topic – there are many brands and kinds to choose from. Each gives a slightly different result. So consider how you’ll use the quilt, the “look” you prefer, and whether you’ll hand or machine-quilt. Quilt Design Wizard™ can provide basic information, but books that deal in depth with quilting may give specific and detailed tips for using each batting type.

Polyester batting
Polyester batting is the least expensive, most readily available, and comes in a variety of thicknesses. For light, puffy quilts, pillows, place mats or table runners, polyester might be your choice. But the thicker the batting, the harder it will be to quilt. Some recommend that batts over 4 inches be tied, rather than quilted. In general, polyester batting quilts may feel stiffer than cotton or wool batting quilts. Feel the batting and judge for yourself.

Cotton batting
Cotton batting gives the flatness and softness admired in old quilts. Cotton batts usually shrink a bit when washed, making the quilting look “dimpled,” which gives your quilt a traditional look. Cotton batting quilts are comfortable for bed or lap quilts. And since cotton is a natural fiber, it breathes like wool. That makes it great for baby quilts. Some cotton batts require closely spaced quilting. Others don’t. Read packaging details to know which is which.

Wool batting
Wool batting may be the hardest to find, and is the most expensive. A natural fiber, like cotton, wool is perfect for bed quilts and an especially good choice for cool, damp climates. Wool is well-loved by quilters because it is easy to quilt through.

Cotton/polyester batting
Confused? There are also 80% cotton / 20% polyester blend battings for the best of both fabrics. The polyester stabilizes the cotton, so close quilting is not as necessary.

Smooth out the batting
The batting, squished into its packaging, will be wrinkled. Unroll it, smooth it and gently pull it into shape, then let it relax for a day or two. If floor space is tight, lay batting out on a spare bed. You can lightly steam cotton batts with an iron to smooth out the worst wrinkles.


Assembling the Layers
The step of layering quilt top (top), batting (middle) and backing (bottom) is often called making a “quilt sandwich.” Lay the pressed quilt backing right-side-down on the floor (or ping-pong table if you have one). Use masking tape on the corners to hold it taut and in place. Smooth out the batting, centering it on the backing. Center the quilt top right-side-up on the batting. Smooth it out carefully, making sure it is squared up.

You should now have:
Backing right-side-down
Batting
Quilt top right-side-up

The batting should be about 2 inches larger than the quilt all around. The backing should be about 3 inches larger than the quilt all around.


Basting the Layers
The quilt sandwich needs basting to hold the layers in place during quilting. Thread basting is traditionally used for hand quilting; pin basting for machine quilting.

Thread basting
Thread basting is used when you hand-quilt. Basting means to sew long running stitches through all three layers. The under stitch is usually about ½ inch. The upper stitch is about 2 inches or so.

Use the longest needle you have. Some quilters use long darning needles. Knot a long piece of thread up to about 48 inches. Use white thread – quilting thread if you’d like, which is thicker than normal sewing thread.

You can start basting in the center and work out to the edge. Or you can start at one side of the quilt (right side if you’re right-handed; left if you’re left-handed). Your basting stitches can go across and up and down the quilt, or can radiate out through the center. See which feels best. Try not to baste where you will be quilting. Trim the batting and backing to two inches beyond the quilt edge. Finally, fold the backing and batting over the quilt edge and pin them in place.

Pin basting
Pin basting is used when you plan to machine quilt. That’s because if you machine stitch over basting thread, it can be difficult to remove. Try to avoid pinning in the planned quilting pattern lines.

Place your first pin in the center of the quilt. From there, place pins a hand width apart – about three to four inches. When pinning, make sure to go through all three layers. Keep smoothing the layers out and adding more pins as needed. Trim the batting and backing to two inches beyond the quilt edge. Finally, fold the backing and batting over the quilt edge and pin them in place.