06/29/2025
When I buy wide backing for my quilts, I have a process I go thru to prep them. The first step is to be sure the raw edges are serged or zigzagged so I don't have a mess of threads when washed. If the shop tore the yardage off the bolt, I go straight to serging, trusting that the fabric is on grain. If they were cut with a ruler and rotary cutter, I immediately add 1/4 yard when I purchase them so I have plenty to tear the cut edges to square up the piece on both ends. The extra 1/4 yard gives me enough to straighten and still have enough for my project, as tearing at home to square up will reduce the size of your piece, sometimes significantly.
The pix below show the strips that were torn off of a recently purchased stack of wide backs that were cut. As you can see, several of those pieces are off as much as 3 or 4 inches! I try to cut the minimum amount needed, but that can be hard to judge. I start with a 1" cut at the center fold, tearing on both halves toward the selvedge, but several times I had to make an additional cut as one side was off more than I allowed for with my initial 1" starting cut.
If you don't wash your wide backings, whatever tweaking the fabric went thru in the bolting process (double folding by machine that can pull and twist the fabric) will still be there and could cause problems later after a finished quilt is washed and the backing tries to reset itself to square. Having wonky edges can also potentially be a problem for your longarmer if you send your quilts out for quilting.
I always wash wide backings to remove whatever sizing or overdye that may be in them. This includes adding I-Dye Fixative (the new product I found as Retayne is being discontinued from what I understand) and several ColorCatchers to the wash. Once washed, I put them in the dryer and take them out promptly to fold neatly until ready to use. This saves you from extensive ironing of the wide backs later.
My finished quilts always get washed as well. With the final wash, I add Synthropol to release any further overdye in the rest of the quilt and include several Color Catchers then as well to absorb that dye.
