Add a False Back to Any Quilt: Top 5 Friday Quilt Design Upgrades

[@tinaswearingen8399]

I cannot manipulate even a lap quilt to do all machine quilting. So, I use the false backs for a different reason. I QAYG in blocks for the patchwork and batting, then add the backing with a few quick hand tying knots to secure. Saves my hands, wrists and shoulders from so much pain, it's wonderful 😁❤️

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

@@tinaswearingen8399 i love that idea!

[@dogwalker338]

Great idea!!

[@leelahmcguigan7468]

I am relatively new to patchwork and quilting. And had wondered if putting 2 quilts together was doable. So thank you for your clear explanation of the various methods of adding a false back.

[@jdmarr2259]

I am quilting a Quilt As You Go 12 block quilt & wanted smooth backing on the blocks which will be joined by matching sashing. The false back is the perfect solution!!! Thank you so much!!! 😊

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

@jdmarr2259 I'd love to see your project! If you post it, tag so I can see. I'm massey.jc on instagram and everywhere else I'm @LongarmingByJaclyn

[@wilycat5290]

Very interesting ideas....food for thought 🤔. Thank you for the video 😊

[@lanaboyer762]

OMG - I’m glad I saw this today, I’ve been wondering how to do this and I already have a quilt on the frame just waiting for an idea to pop in my head. Thank you thank you thank you - a false back, how clever

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

I'd love to see what you've done with it. If you post to facebook tag me @LongarmingByJaclyn or IG @massey.jc 😀

[@kayeammerman4964]

Thank you sooo much for posting this! I have a few quilt tops completed that I’ve never actually quilted because I had thought I would make it reversible but then the parts on the front/back wouldn’t match up so I wouldn’t like the results. Now I know I can quilt each onto batting and then put them together. It would obviously be a thicker quilt (Yay warmer and more snuggly!). Perhaps using fusible fleece would be better option.

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

A nice bamboo would layer nicely as well! Check out The Batting Episode on my channel!

[@joannedifrancesco4555]

Interesting- I purchased the Babylock Sashiko machine so i have a hand stitched look on the front, but the back looks like a regular machine and I don’t love that. This method would enable me to use sashiko on both sides:) but I worried about how to keep the heavy quilt together, as I expect to use this and wash it. I guess hand tying it makes sense:). Thanks for sharing!

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

@joannedifrancesco4555 or add some stitch in the ditch afterwards with a regular stitch, blending thread. You can go more than the batting requirement since it is already secure. When you post, I'd love to see the result! @massey.jc on IG or @LongarmingByJaclyn everywhere else. Thanks!

[@julieanderson2428]

Liked your video…… will try with minky! Thanks!!!

[@hazelem1266]

I am finishing my second quilt, a queen sized story photo quilt, both totally hand sewn. I did this double quilting because I was using different colour cotton to suit the narrative. My first quilt took two years and I’m busy now 18 months with the second which has a huge serpentine film strip appliqué which I will quilt on an already quilted sandwich. Binding has been done. I didn’t know there was a specific name for this. I just know it took a long time. Thank you for this video.

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

I'd love to see your beautiful quilts! When you post them, use @LongarmingByJaclyn or @massey.jc on IG so I can see! They sound amazing!

[@beverlylehr1696]

Thank you so much... This was so helpful

[@jackiedewine9718]

Great information! Thank you! ❤

[@suebean3873]

Very interesting and informative, thank you. I wish I had seen this video before I put the borders on two of my quilts but I think I could still do this if I took the border off…thanks so much…

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

I'd love to see how they finish up, use @LongarmingByJaclyn or @massey.jc on IG when you post them!

[@larriclairequilty8840]

You have solved my problem: A enough log cabin blocks have been wished upon me to make a 66 X 87" quilt. Thus I purchased a beautiful plush backing, which matches well. However I do not want the backing "floating in the breeze". Thank you for the solution: just a few machine stitches here and there amongst the logs. Now I can finish the cotton-picking thing. :-)

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

When you finish it, post pics! @LongarmingByJaclyn unless you are on IG then @massey.jc yay!

[@carol8273]

Personally, i just find it easier to quilt on a domestic sewing machine with only two layers. I DO NOT enjoy making a quilt sandwich. I make it even easier and use the backing fabric as my binding by turning to the front. I do some tacking to keep the backing attached to the quilt. 😊

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

I just saw where Dave from Dave's Craft room pre-trims the top and batting for that rolled binding method. Genius! It is so easy to nick the backing the other way! I usually leave a healthy unquilted margin to help me fold it back and even use pins!

[@karenjackson1700]

Good info.. but I am making a chicken quilt so I am doing it in application … and now I want to do a big rooster on the back but I do not want double batting.. so what can I use to replace another layer of batting to connect my rooster to fabric and what?? To hold my stitches… would stabilizer be enough? Then I will quilt them together on the sides and if I need to tack in the middle with silk clear thread on back? I have only been quilting for a little over a year.. sorry for so many questions.. Thanks to any one that could give me some answers… We all know there is so many ways to do one thing…

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

@karenjackson1700 so you have some good thoughts. Stabilizer on the back will help secure your "second top" which I'm assuming is pieced. If you want to see the quilting texture, you will need at least some batting on each side. Consider using 2 thin layers such as 2 layers of bamboo, this way you can see some definition for the quilting on both sides, but the 2 layers won't add up to much more than a single layer of 80/20. That will allow you to fmq at least around the rooster and make him pop. Then join and do some light tacking which can be machine, hand, or just tied, enough so that the 2 layers don't billow apart. The 2 layers can be joined "traditionally" back to back, tacked, and bound. Or, lay them face to face and sew around the edges and flip the way you'd make a pillow. Then add any additional "common" quilting you'd like to have on the front and back. So that boils down to "tack and bind" or "flip and tack" if that makes sense.

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

@karenjackson1700 My best suggestion with ALL quilt making questions is to test, test, test, experiment, test, explore. So make yourself a smaller scale pot holder or dog bed and try out some of your ideas. The stakes are low, and you'll see if you enjoy the process and are happy with the result. Potholders (even "ugly" ones) are useful and giftable. Dog beds will always be appreciated if only at the local shelter. Use them as your learning playground if you are afraid to experiment on a bigger project. :)

[@karenjackson1700]

Thanks again

[@gisellejones1139]

Thank you...always looking for new methods

[@CherylONeal-e1f]

What do you do if you want to use minky on the back and have a false back. It doesn’t shrink like the front that’s 100% cotton. Wouldn’t you end up with a baggy back even with some tacking?

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

@CherylONeal-e1f if a little crinkle is a concern, I would use prewashed fabrics on the front/top. You can also simply starch and steam your top fabrics prior to use. I know the washing machine can knock fabric off grain and take away that nice crisp brand-new-fabric feel that is so nice for accurate piecing.

[@CherylONeal-e1f]

@@longarmingbyjaclyn good suggestion! Thanks.

[@edithutz3093]

Thanks. I wondered about this

[@elizabethwade8316]

What type of batting is best to use for the false back and/or after quilt?

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

It depends on what you want for the quilt in the end. Here's a video on batting types. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXTNoYmNpbSCgrMsi=26f-m9JNavHTxNr1

[@deborahn.6150]

I'm new to quilting. Currently working on a tshirt quilt and want to try this. Do you machine quilt with the front up or the batting up?

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

I would quilt it with the top up. Especially with a tshirt quilt, you'll love working with it without the extra weight of the backing for the bulk of your quilting. I'd love to see what you come up with for your tshirt quilt. When you post pics, tag me! @LongarmingByJaclyn on fb or @massey.jc on IG. Thanks!

[@deborahn.6150]

Using my grandmother's Singer treadle machine. This isn't really working well for quilting. Scrapping that idea and will just top stitch around the seams. Thank you for sharing and for answering my question. 😊

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

I know a longarmer who quilts by mail if you want one! 😉

[@katehenry2718]

It looks like the modern plan is to use stuffing that is quite solid and Very thin. Two layers is considered a HEAVY quilt. oh my. These must be for warm climates... just for pretty. It does get quilts out of the serious deep snow belt where double layer of soft fluff is standard. That's a bit of a brain-bend for me, but a good idea after all ))). Quilts should be on Every bed. ))))

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

I've lived in both places. I like a crisp antique quilt, and we just layer according to climate. So every bed has at least one quilt, usually more!

[@meacadwell]

Ah...I learned this as a pillow case backing...because it loose like a pillow case on a pillow.

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

@@meacadwell i sometimes call it the pillow flip!

[@Bd6598-m4v]

Same here,never heard of false back. Personally I find it too loose and.sloppy looking without anything holding backing to the front. It's probably very warm though

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

@@Bd6598-m4v i will tack it down some. Or you can quilt each side separately!

[@meacadwell]

@@longarmingbyjaclyn How would you quilt each side separately? I'm intrigued by this thought but can't figure it out in my head.

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

@@meacadwell I'll have to do a video for that in detail. I did a video where I made dog beds and kinda discussed it. Check out my dog bed videos and let me know if that answers your question! I'll get a video in the works for that as well!

[@karenwerts2331]

[@marinaabad4995]

Good information but could be more effectively communicated by showing completed quilts to demonstrate the different types. For the second part, please use sample blocks that you complete on the video to show how it's done. Flapping the patched piece, back fabric, and the batting for all your examples was not very educational.

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

I am sorry you did not find the video clear. Maybe I will add a tutorial on each technique in the future. This was meant to be more of an inspirational overview to get you thinking and asking the right questions with the person who finshes your quilts. Thanks for the great feedback!

[@mary-ruthflores4107]

Yes , please do a video with the examples. While this video has good info, I would really like to see how you do the various false backs.

[@mariannebecker5132]

@@longarmingbyjaclyn I am new to quilting, and I had no trouble following along. You explained it just fine. 🙂

[@brendapetropoulos3259]

Thank you for sharing the information. Unfortunately the background music was so annoying that i didn’t make it even halfway through. Sorry, but that’s the truth.

[@longarmingbyjaclyn]

I'll bear that in mind!

[@deborahschroeder3454]

the background music was so soft you could hardly hear it.

[@tinadenike2357]

I agree this video didn't really need music

[@mary-ruthflores4107]

I think the music was different loudness on different devices. I started this video on my phone and the music was fine, but I changed to my iPad and it was overpowering. So I turned on CC and turned the volume down. When you are talking you really don’t need the music. I think that KZbin has a problem with balancing the talking and music together

[@Bd6598-m4v]

I found it more distracting to see the fabric flipping around in the air, I understand better when the sewing us actually shown.