Ideas for Quilt Backings
Quilt backings are usually an afterthought for me. I put so much effort into designing the quilt tops, picking out fabrics, and making precise cuts for excellent piecing. I feel an overwhelming sense of accomplishment when the top is finished! But then I must make a quilt sandwich, and many times, regretfully, that’s exactly when I remember there is another side of the quilt. Well, perhaps instead of making quilt backings an afterthought, I should think about them as I design and choose fabrics for the top of the quilt. They are essentially a base or a backdrop for our artistic quilt tops: I don’t want to detract from all the effort and expertise put into the top of the quilt, but I also don’t want to present that quilt top in a context that doesn’t do it justice. In that light, here are some of my favorite materials and types of fabrics to use as quilt backings. Having this list in my mind when starting the design phase for a quilt can produce a more cohesive finished piece.
1. Bedsheets
Bedsheets make excellent quilt backings. The fabrics are literally designed to be held closely to the skin and for this reason are often very soft and comfortable; they come in a range of weaves for different finishes (e.g., sateen and percale), and you can find brushed finishes as well. Bedsheets also come in different fiber blends. Consider this as you select a sheet; if you primarily use 100% cotton that hasn’t been preshrunk in your quilt top, you might consider the same for your quilt back. But like anything in quilting, there is no hard and fast rule, so see what works for your quilt!
Pros of Bedsheets:
Easy to find in any store that sells home goods.
Inexpensive: backing with a bedsheet usually costs about half as much as quality quilting cotton.
No piecing required! You can find bedsheets in any size large enough to fit your quilts without needing to piece.
Comfortable: these fabrics are designed to be snuggled under all night, so they’ll make comfortable quilts.
Great for children’s quilts: children’s sheets are more fun than adult sheets.
Cons of Bedsheets:
Poor selection: a home goods store will not have nearly the selection of bedsheets that a fabric store will have of quilting cotton, and most of the selection will be soft and neutral colors.
Sometimes you can’t purchase an individual flat sheet and instead must purchase a sheet set. If you cut the elastic and box seams off the fitted sheet, it can be used as a second backing, however! And any included pillow cases are great for coordinated storage or gift wrapping of the finished quilt.
2. Solids
Solids are my default for quilt backings because they are so easy! The abundance of quilting cotton solids makes it easy to find one that matches your quilt top, both in color and quality (especially if you purchase it from the same manufacturer as the quilt top fabrics). You can find quilting cotton solids at your LQS and they are often less expensive than printed fabrics. Plus, with a solid back, your quilting design will stand out from the back, so your stitch work will be appreciated!
Pros of Solids:
Easy to find the perfect color match: use a color card or take some scraps from your quilt top to your LQS. Some manufacturers also suggest solids to coordinate with their different collections!
Less expensive than printed fabrics.
No pattern matching necessary for pieced backs.
Shows off your quilting design: for a more dramatic effect, use a thread that contrasts with the backing fabric.
Cons of Solids:
Pieced backs: you often need to sew two or more cuts together to make the backing large enough (unless you’re fortunate to find wideback or you’re making a very small quilt).
Can be boring: solids simply don’t offer any texture or thematic enhancement. You can mitigate this by contrasting the backing and the binding or picking a bold backing color.
3. Regular Prints
Maybe I’m using a bit of a scientific definition of “regular,” but I do have a science background in crystalline materials. In this light, by “regular” prints, I mean prints that have an ordered, repeating design, such as stripes, plaids, grids, and arrays. My favorite thing about using these types of fabrics, especially plaids and grids, is that I can use them as a grid for certain quilting designs without having to mark (and wash out) my own! For instance, I used the plaid backing of this Walk in the Forest quilt by Modern Handmade to make a diamond design with my walking foot, without ever having to mark a grid!
Pros of Regular Prints:
No need to mark a quilting grid! For grid-based quilting designs, you can use the grid, plaid, or array from the backing fabric as your marked grid. Just quilt with the backing side up!
More interesting than solids: While they don’t add a lot of pizazz, the bit of texture and print can liven up the quilt back without detracting from a magnificent top.
Cons of Regular Prints:
Pattern matching required: if you need to piece multiple cuts for your backing, you’ll have to take extra care to align the pattern.
Expensive: typically, printed grids, plaids, etc. are just as expensive as any printed quilting cotton.
A note about printed fabrics…..
You may notice that generally, printed quilting cotton, apart from regular prints, is not on my list of favorite backings. That’s because a lot of printed fabrics are meant to feel like a random distribution of objects, and when they only have an 8” repeat, the large cuts needed for a back lose that randomness. Consider this random triangle pattern I designed in four minutes:
It may match the colors and playfulness of my quilt top, but for even a baby size square quilt, for a full-drop repeat pattern, I would need at least five repeats left and right and up and down. When I do that, the playful random distribution of the triangles goes away and a pattern emerges. Though perhaps I have an eye that tries harder than others to identify patterns (it’s probably the science thing, again), my eye picks up the repeat, and I lose the whimsical floating triangle vibe. I’ve outlined the grid pattern made between the large blue triangles that jumps out at me right away.
Now, surface pattern designers are clever and there are types of repeats that mitigate this effect (like half-drop repeats or continuous repeats), and it might be that the effect is not as bad with certain patterns, but you should be aware of this before deciding on printed fabrics based on a small swatch, especially if you’re attracted to the random distribution of the motifs, like florals. However, printed fabrics might still work for you! I suggest going to your LQS and unwrapping a few yards of the fabric to see how much the repeat jumps out at you before deciding.
4. Batiks
Batik fabrics are technically printed fabrics. However, due to the nature of batik printing, each motif is done individually and so there will be charming variations in the prints. Consider this rainbow batik I used to back my version of Suzy Quilts Shine Quilt. The pattern repeats, but the coloring varies more organically, and doesn’t repeat the same way as the pattern. This avoids the visual repeating effect that I don’t like when using printed fabrics.
Pros of Batiks:
Inexpensive: I’ve found that batiks are often slightly less expensive than other printed quilting cottons, but rarely more expensive.
Interesting patterns without the repeating effect of printed cotton.
Widebacks: due to the popularity of batiks, some are available in 108” widebacks.
Cons of Batiks:
Difficult to pattern match: due to the variation from the printing method, it can be very difficult to pattern match for pieced backs.
I hope you now have a little more direction to select the perfect backing for your next quilt project! You should think about backing during the design and fabric selection phases of your quilt preparation. For instance, if you want to use a quilting pattern that uses a grid, you can find a plaid or grid print for the backing. If you’re being budget conscious, you can choose a solid or bedsheet. Bedsheets can be difficult to match, but matching your quilt top fabrics to the bedsheet is usually easier than matching bedsheet to your quilt top. Did you fall in love with a printed fabric? You can go to your quilt shop and unroll a few yards and see if the visual repeat effect will detract from the vibe you’re going for. Though these are my most commonly used quilt backings, you are certainly not limited to them! Minky, flannel, and other materials are also popular quilt backings. What are your favorites?
