5 Tips for Easy Quilt Backings and Giveaway

As you probably know, making backs for a quilt is not high on my favorite parts of quilting.  I would love to share some tips with you today on how I make the easiest, most stress free quilt backing possible.

(Hint hint...at the bottom of the post, there is a chance to win some wonderful wide fabric to back your own quilt!)

1. Use 108" Wide Fabrics

Wide back fabrics are wonderful as there is no piecing involved, they are hands down the easiest backings there are!  They save time (no piecing) and money (wide back fabrics are typically cheaper per square yard than the usual 40-44" wide fabrics).  You also use a sheet (you can read my experiences and tips for using sheets here), but over the past few years, there have been more and more options for great quality and beautiful wide quilting fabrics for use as backings.  Another benefit is that you know that the fabric is quality and will last for years to come.

2. Over-sized Your Backings

When basting a quilt, it is typically recommended to size the backing such that the backing is about 4" larger on all sides of the quilt top.  I can get away with a smaller overhang for smaller baby quilts, but for large bed quilts having a 4" overhang or even more can make basting easier and less error prone.

By skimping on the backing size, there is a greater likelihood to accidentally have the corner or side of the quilt top hanging off the edge of the backing.  Having to totally unbaste and rebaste a large quilt is no fun (ask me how I know).

Note: This is for basting for a domestic machine, if you are giving your quilt to a longarmer to quilt, check with them to see how much overhang you need for your backing and make to provide at least that amount.

3. Print Fabrics

If you want to make your quilting a little less noticeable and hide any bobbles and oopsies, then pick a print for your quilt backing.  A solid backing fabric can give you a really cool whole-cloth look to the back of your quilt but they tend to me more stress inducing (at least for me) because every stitch of your quilting shows up.

4. Random Print Fabrics

For a stress free basting experience, I highly recommend going for a more random print design for your backing.  If you use a very directional print (like lines, oriented dots, etc) and have the quilt top skewed even a little relative to the backing, the pattern on the back of the quilt may be noticeably slanted.

5. Color Matched Fabric to Quilting Thread

I always use the same color thread on the top and bottom when quilting so if you want your thread to blend in on the back (again hiding any bobbles and imperfections), pick a backing that is similar to the thread color.  Quilting with white thread on a black backing would be stressful to me as every stitch is going to stand out.

Backside Fabrics was kind enough to give Paige (Quilted Blooms) and myself two quilt backings for use in some secret sewing projects.  I had such a great time going through all of her huge amount of fabric selections, it was like heaven for those that hate to piece backs. Here are some of my favorite wide backing fabrics from Backside Fabrics that I think would be excellent backing choices:

108" Eclectic Elements Correspondence Sateen by Tim Holz - Blue 

108" Value Collection Gray and White Wide Quilt Backing - Sun Burst

108" Spot on Wide Quilt Backing - Chartreuse

Giveaway

Backside Fabric has been generous to offer a $40 gift certificate to one lucky reader (the giveaway is being hosted on my and Paige's blog so you only have to enter through one post).

To enter, use the Rafflecopter widget below (if you are reading this via e-mail, you will have to open the post on the internet.)

The giveaway ends Sunday, November 20th, at 10pm eastern time and a random number generator will select the winner. Giveaway open to participants 18 years or older and international participants are welcome.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


I'm linking up to Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl and Stephanie @ Late Night Quilter link party Tips and Tutorials Tuesday.