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Pieced minky for backing.


Melsangel

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Hello!!!  I'm very new to longarming and am just getting ready to longarm a king-sized quilt for my husband's cousin.  She would like a minky backing.  I have read on the forum that I should for sure used a thin layer of batting to give the quilt body, and I will do just that.  The problem is of course that the minky is not wide enough.  It is 60 inches wide, with the stretch going up and down.  My thought was that if I had 2 large pieces...that were 60 inches wide each...I could sew the at the selvages and have it then wide enough for my quilt. (The quilt top is 107 inches wide and 109 inches long).  If I cut this huge piece of minky that I have and sew the 2 pieces together on the selvages in the middle of the pieces it should end up being 120 inches wide by about 120 inches long.  Is this going to cause issues when I longarm it?  Will the middle seam that I make in the minky hold or will it be impossible to even achieve?  Will it be too heavy?  Should I change gears?  Thanks so much for your help!  

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If there is a nap on the fabric make sure it is going the same way(nap: like petting a cat it should be smooth not go against the fur...If that makes scene)

also the seam should be parallel to the roller so you do not have a lump in the middle when you roll your quilt Hope this helps ...also do not streach when you are advancing the quilt if you do you will get a bubble quilt, not pretty

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I have done it several times, Make sure you trim the selvage from your seam line, I like to have about a 1/2 inch seam allowance for the seam also. Put your seam parallel to the roller and like was mentioned above--make sure you get the nap going the same way when you join the 2 pieces of fabric. I like to roll the quilt and then release it a bit so you don't over tighten it as you advance.

 

Edited to add: I always use a slight zig zag stitch for the seam. 

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Usually when I load minkie, I make sure the stretch is the same direction as the rollers (horizontal) and the firmness is between the rollers (vertical).  This is so that I don't inadvertently stretch the backing a lot more than the top.  If when you seam this will put the stretch between the rollers, you will need to be extra careful to not tighten up the backing too much, else when you take the quilt off and the minkie goes back to a normal shape, the top will be gathered up.  Minkie is really heavy, and a kingsize quilt will be really heavy...  I agree about using a very think batting.  You may not even need any batting.

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Cut 2 pieces bigger than the width, sew toget, being careful of nap, cut off selvage and load so the seam is the same direction as your bars. Use extra care to not stretch it. I have done it but it seems easier to stretch so use extra care. I always use a layer of batting even if it's minkee top and bottom.

Shirley

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