how to avoid pleats in backing

[FloridaMissy]

Need some sound advice.  I've recently starting doing some heavy custom quilting.  By that I mean every inch of the block is quilted.  On 2 of the quilts I developed a fold or crease in the backing. 

How can I prevent this in the future and any suggestions for how to fix it while quilting? 

Thanks, Missy

[ThreadWaggle]

Missy,

Are you leaving places unquilted and coming back to them? If so, I always pin any area I am not quilting with very fine flower head pins. I pin pretty heavy. I stabilize as I go down the quilt. I do my SID first and then do my fill work. I pin in anything that I will not be quilting in that pass before forwarding the quilt.

Did the pleat get sewn in or is it just extra fabric? How visible is it?

[Quilting Heidi]

Pleats can be such a pain and I'll bet they happen to all of us at some time or another.  I find they happen most to me when I quilt, roll and then go back so now I pin the snot out of those areas.  Another way I can work in a pleat is if I'm holding down my ruler too tight.  Sometimes the fabric just stretches.  I try to be very careful when I roll forward and pull out the sides really well.  Always double check.  I also don't like to have my quilts too loose.  I know lots of people that quilt with their sandwich really loose but I always end up with problems.

[FloridaMissy]

The quilt was all applique with a large medallion in the middle.  I always stitch in the ditch and secure all straight rows and also each individual block.  On this quilt the fold of extra fabric ended up in the very first border I quilted!  Did I check 1st, no.  I've since put a post it note on the front of my machine reminding me to check the underside before I start quilting. 

Anyway, the border consisted of a long swag of vines, leaves and flowers and a center motif.  I stitched around each before I started on the denser quilting.  I did a long feather that went above the applique to the stitch in the ditch area and I then went back and did straight line stitching from the applique to the outside edge. 

I had a major problem with the center medallion.  The material seemed to be sagging in the middle.  I took the quilt off and double checked the back was square tore out the stabilizing I had done and pin based the tar out of the center.  No more problems. 

I do like my quilts fairly snug and not loosey goosey on the rails. 

The backing was a batik and although they have no give length wise our width wise they have a lot of stretch on the diagonal.  

[RunningThreads]

I try to make sure my top is looser than the back.  I mean I advance the quilt and then loosen the quilt top roller about an eighth to a quarter turn.  At a class I was at Renae Haddadin also suggested we reach under the backing and use your fingertips to smooth the backing from the center to the sides after you advance.

 

Nigel

[FloridaMissy]

Good suggestion Nigel.  I'll add it to my list of things to do after I advance the quilt.

[JenniferBernard]

1 teacher, it may have been Sharon Shamber, actually demonstrated spraying starch on a baggy top and letting it dry. Spray just on the baggy part. We actuall saw it shrink up in class! I have used this trick a couple of times.