When it comes to sending your quilt to a longarmer, there's surprisingly only one hard and fast rule:
The backing fabric must extend 4-5" beyond the quilt top on all sides.
That's it. This requirement is essential for attaching the quilt backing to the longarm machine. Aiming for 5 inches is always a safe bet and will satisfy any longarmers' requirements.
In the photo below, the red bar (called Red Snappers) holds the backing fabric in place (blue arrow). As you can see, the top of the quilt top is several inches below the red snapper (orange arrow). That's about as close to the silver bar that the sew head can go. So, you can see there are several inches of extra backing fabric needed to sure the quilt to the frame.
All the other requirements to prepare for a longarmer are really suggestions to ensure the best outcome for your quilt.
Press the seams flat: You can either press open or press to the dark side. If you have high contrast colours (ex: navy and white) pressing to the dark side will prevent shadowing on the top of the quilt (i.e. navy seam showing through the white fabric). If you are planning to have your quilt custom quilted, then you definitely want to press to the side because the quilter will need to stitch in the ditch and open seams are less secure.
Trim the threads: I know this is nobody's favourite part. But before any quilting happens, whether it's on a longarm or not, you want to make sure you trim all those dark threads on the back of the quilt top. This is just to ensure you don't have black threads showing through light fabric.
Mark the top of the quilt top and backing. I ask customers to do this with a safety pin. If the pantograph design is directional, it will be important the quilt is loaded the right way!
Stay stitch around the edges: This is not necessary but can be helpful. It simply keeps those seams along the edge together when the quilt top is on the frame. Stay stitches means sewing a straight line around your top about 1/8" to 1/4" from the edge to secure those seams. This is especially useful if that quilt top is going to sit in the closet for a while before you get around to sending it for quilting.
Square your quilt backing: This helps the longarmer keep the quilt straight on the quilt frame. If it's not straight, the longarmer will adjust as necessary.
Pieced backing? If you are piecing your backing, and it's a large quilt, try to piece so that the seam runs horizontally. Do you like a heavily pieced backing? No problem. Just make sure the pieces are large enough that if the quilt shifts 1/2" to 1", it won't be noticeable. Exact precision is difficult on the longarm.
I hope this is helpful for you. If you would like further clarification or have other questions, please put them in the comments below and I'll be sure to answer them.
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