I'm going to attempt quilting on a round cake; I understand that the fondant should be on the cake & the quilting should be done as soon as the fondant is placed on the cake. Here's my question, is there information on how to best line up the quilting, i.e. instruction books or sheets (or does anyone have any "pearls of wisdom" that they can share on this topic)? My fear is that when I get to the back of the cake, the design is going to be off. This looks like a really fun effect to do, but it gives me the "heebee geebees". I plan on doing a practice cake first. Thanks.
I'm glad you asked this -- I just got a quilting mat and one of those metal diamond thingys for just this purpose -- I'm interested to see what responses you get. Thanks for posting! 
I ordered a couple of impression mats from Earlene Moore at www.earlenescakes.com and she did make a short reference on how to use the mats. It didn't say much, but you might check it out for a little help. Go onto her website and then click on "Shopping Cart" and then click on "Impression Tools." Scroll down to about the 6th Impression Mat. I hope that helps a little. I am getting ready to try mine for the first time too. Good Luck!!
Start at the back of the cake because it will be off slightly (unless you are really lucky!) where you start and finish. I press very lightly at the seam and then do a little free hand impression to make them line up better.
On fondant make sure to do this as soon as its covered (like you said), if you are doing this on a BC cake wait until it just crusts (dont wait to long) and then use the impression mat dusted with PS, works like a charm.
Have fun with it!
I guess I should have mentioned that I'm using a diamond cutter instead of a mat. Don't know if the piece of information matters. Thanks.
I used a square cutter for the quilting on my cousin's wedding cake instead of an impression mat and was very happy with the results. This was my first attempt and was "flying by the seat of my pants" I started at the back of each tier and lightly layed out my pattern, when I reached the corners i was able to just roll the cutter around them so that the pattern would have a continuous flow to it and continued until I reached my starting point. Once I was happy with the layout/positioning I went back over the pattern applying more pressure. I also used my metal bench scaper to help line up some areas when needed. What I liked about using the individual cutter was the "puffiness" i was able to achieve on the quilting. I don't know if you get this with an impression mat as I have never used one.
I have used the impression mat on a practice cake and the problem I had was the pattern didn't match up at the back of the cake. On my Glass Slipper cake I took a piece of adding machine tape and wrapped it around the cake and cut it to fit the outside of the cake. Next I folded it in half again and again until the folds were the size I wanted my diamonds to be. Then I wrapped the tape around the cake again and marked where the folds were with a toothpick at the top and bottom of the cake. Next I used a ruler and lined it up in a diagonal from the top marking to the bottom marking (some times I go over two markings and sometimes just one) and went around the cake using my fondant cutter making the diagonal lines. You will need to go in both directions to get the diamond effect. This way you will not have a mismatched seam at the back.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%