Today is the book launch of Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs, the latest book by Kelly Young, My Quilt Infatuation. I was asked back in March if I would be interested in reviewing her book by making one of the thirty patterns designed specifically for quilt backs and participating in her Book Blog Hop. It was a Big Yes from me. Kelly wrote the book for Quilters, like me, who aren’t comfortable with making pieced quilt backs or for those Quilters, definitely not me, who need new pieced quilt back ideas.
It was rather serendipitous that I would be asked because around that time I was thinking my scrap fabric overload was caused by having too much leftover after a quilt finish and that I maybe ought to start making pieced backs which is something I avoid like catching Covid. Also at that time, Linda, Texas Quilt Gal, had posted about her latest quilt being a mullet quilt and since it didn’t remind me of Billy Ray Cyrus, I had to find out what she meant by that. Well, I learned that a mullet quilt means that the business or the seriousness is in the front and the party is in the back which I take it to mean the back of the quilt has the more “fun” fabric or approach. My quilt backs tend to be on the quiet or bland side and not much time is spent planning or making it, so in the terms of a mullet quilt, my backs are definitely party poopers. When I first started quilting over 25 years ago, quilt backs were not important to me, I didn’t want to use the same fabrics as in the front, especially at that time $9/yard and I used a fabric purchased on sale which is the reason for my backing fabric vault. Another caveat I had for backing was that it had to somewhat complement the top and not look like I sewed any old fabric(s) together.
I was thinking the reason why Kelly asked me to participate in her Book Blog Hop was because several years I participated in her Book Blog Tour of Scrappy Improv Quilting but then I realized that she may have seen some of my backs and sensed that I needed to stop being a pieced back resister and come over to the party side. Like Kelly saids, she has your back.
It was no surprise for me to that Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs is just as inspiring and resourceful as Kelly’s previous two books, Scrappy Improv Quilting and Stash Statement. It definitely is a Scrap-Smart Guide. The thirty patterns are divided into three sections depending on whether you want to use Small Scraps, Medium Scraps or Large or Mixed-Sized Scraps/Fat Quarters. It may have exceeded my expectations being that as you read my Post, I have been converted to a happy pieced backer and my days of whining and resisting are over. Planning a quilt back beforehand and not as an afterthought is the way for me to sew now. As Kelly mentioned in her book, a pieced back adds a little something extra or lagniappe as the French would say.
From the thirty patterns presented in Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs, I chose to make the Double Bar pattern, page 64, because it made the best use of my leftover blocks and scraps which were large or mixed-sized scraps and fat quarters.I just needed to purchase yardage of the dark blue fabric.
The leftover blocks and scraps were from my Safari Moon quilt using a modified version of Kelly’s Unruly Pattern (not an affiliate link) and I made especially for the book blog hop. We had a choice of either making a quilt back for an existing flimsy or just a simple top but I saw it as another reason to make another Unruly quilt as it is one of my favorite patterns. I was planning on making this quilt and have been stashing the fabrics for several years now.
The name of this quilt is also the name of the Art Gallery fabric line designed by Frances Newcombe which I had yardage and fat quarters of the wonderful prints. I modified the Unruly pattern so I could feature the Zebra and some of the other larger prints. Little did I realize that this would also be enough to use for the pieced backing and it helped that I originally made thirty blocks and decided to only use twenty blocks.
Three Quilt Backing Sizes (Lap (72” square), Twin XL (80”x108”) and Queen (96”x108”) are given for each of the thirty Quilt Back patterns. You can easily modify the dimension to fit your quilt which is what I did for the Double Bar pattern since my top measured 60” x 75” and I needed a backing to measure 68”x 83”. Using leftover blocks and scraps, I made three panels measuring 15-1/2” wide by 83”long and I cut the solid blue fabric 12-1/2” wide by 83” long.
I should point out that I may have made a mistake with the block panels made for the sides. I thought I was being smart for putting the bright rectangles vertically to avoid having too many seams on the outside but you can see once the backing was trimmed, these bright rectangles were almost cut off just leaving skinny pieces on the sides. At first I thought it was awkward looking but then as Kelly pointed out in her book, you are not making double sided quilt, to which I add, you still want to be able to tell which side is the front and which one is the back. Although my back is pretty, it still looks like the back but Unruly Safari Moon does have two-sided appeal.
Some of the things I learned from Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs are:
- Patience as I used to think sewing a pieced quilt back was like sewing another top but it’s really not because you may just spend an hour piecing scraps and to me is it makes for a nicer finish. Rather than seeing the top and backing as two separate pieces, there is a connection now between the two with a pieced quilt back.
- I was making my quilt backs too large as I was using the measurement of adding 8” to both the wide and length which is what you do if you were sending it out to a long armer which I do not do 99.5% of the time. I can get by with just adding 4-6” on both sides now that I’m…..
- Taking the time to measure both the quilt top, batting and backing and marking the center of each piece in both directions.
- I am no longer eye-balling centering the backing on my big 48”x76” table where I baste my quilts since I have now marked the centers on the table.
- More confidence and less stress now that the layers of the top, batting and backing are centered and no surprises if one of the layers is too close to the edge after the majority of the pin-basting is done. I may have been surprised more than once and salty language was definitely used.
- Making pieced backs is fun and using up leftover fabrics does feel good.
Sandra @mmm quilts
Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts
Laura @Slice of Pi Quilts
Jayne @Twiggy and Opal
Anja @ Anja Quilts
Nancy @Grace and Peace Quilting
Vasudha @Storied Quilts
Kris @Sew Sunshine
Leanne @Devoted Quilter
Rebecca @Rebecca Grace Quilting
Preeti @Sew Preeti Quilts
Susan @Quilt Fabrication
Kate @Katie Mae Quilts
Sarah @Sarah Goer Quilts
Linda @Flourishing Palms
Anne-Marie @Stories From The Sewing Room
Michelle @From Bolt to Beauty
Gail @Quilting Gail
Kat @Scrapbox Quilts
Julie @Julie’s Quilts and Costumes
Jan @The Colorful Fabricholic
Rose @something rosemade (that’s me!)
There are twenty-two (including me) Quilt Bloggers who are joining in the Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs Blog Hop by reviewing this book and making a pieced quilt which I can bet theirs’ will be perfect. We are all posting today so be sure to check out their posts by clicking the links on Kelly’s Book Launch Blog Hop Post.
