I'm in the process of making a baby quilt(first quilt, first grandchild). It's a strip quilt. My original plan was to make the quilt 36 by 52. I picked out a plaid fabric for the backing that I love. It's 38 by 55. When I ordered it I didn't give much thought to what the actual measurement would be. I figured it would be about 41-42 inches wide. It wasn't and I love it and don't really want to look for a replacement. So, when I make my quilt sandwich the top is only about a 1/2 inch smaller than the back on the sides. It is about 3 inches smaller at the top and bottom. I'm planning to machine quilt it myself using a serpentine stitch, either along the seams or down the middle of each strip. I'm using Quilters Dream 80/20 midloft batting. I know I'm supposed to leave room to accommodate how much back and batting will be taken up by quilting. My question is should I trim the quilt top down another inch or so on the sides now before I quilt? The top is at 37 inches wide now, trimming it would take it down to 35inches. If I don't trim the top and quilt it as is am I taking a chance?
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Baby quilt sandwich problem
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That's cutting it awfully close! I like to leave a minimum of 2" on all sides. You can try it like it is, then trim the edges later if needed. Most of my WOF yardage is 42-44", so I make my quilt top no wider than 38-39". I always trim the selvage edge from my backings prior to sandwiching. What pattern is the quilt top? Would it look right if it's trimmed? Do you have other backing fabric you could use?
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You don't have much wiggle room there. You will have to be really careful lining up your sandwich so you have a pinch extra on all four sides. Otherwise you run the risk of starting your quilting only to discover the front has no back at the other edge if you misjudged when basting. I find it helps to mark the center of all three pieces (top, batting, backing) with a pen, that's four marks on each piece (top center, bottom center, right center, left center) and pin those marks together first, then baste. Good luck!
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