Pattern-Matching

There's one more thing I worked on during retreat that I thought you might appreciate hearing about. I made the Venti quilt top, and with Island Quilter just down the hall, I decided to shop the sale bin for a quilt back. I happened to mention it to my guild-mate Matt/@odditease, and he suggested I pattern-match the backing, and he'd share some tips with me. He's kind of obsessive about matching his quilt backs (and wildly successful), so I didn't have to think long before accepting his offer.

Matt (and now I) follows a tutorial from Samantha/Aqua Paisley Studio that he happened to read about in an issue of The Scrap Basket. (smile) It's pretty straightforward and before too long, I was ready to stitch the seam up. Unfortunately, my pattern shifted ever so slightly and I had a decision to make. Let it be - as it really did look ok, even though not perfectly matched - or start over. I opted for the second option because it was more important to me to figure the technique out so I was 1) comfortable with it, and 2) happy with the results.

So once home, after confirming I had enough fabric to do so, I trimmed off what I had done and started over. The first time around, I had used a glue stick, and Matt thought that wasn't quite as secure as actual glue. So I tried again with what I had on hand - Aleene's Fabric Fusion. I gotta say, I'm a mess with glue! But I forged ahead and also opted to use my walking foot on the second go. It still didn't turn out perfect, and I confess I didn't pin at this point as the tutorial suggested. So I might try that next time. Here's a peek at one of the best sections....

And from farther away, I think it looks pretty darn awesome! I'll definitely try again. I've since asked Matt exactly what glue he uses (Elmer's Washable School Glue), so I'll try that along with pinning on the sewing step. Pretty cool though!

I'd love to hear about your experiences pattern-matching a quilt back. Or not!