ScrappyAZ

My husband wants flannel for the back of his new lap quilt. I have never used flannel before but know that flannel shrinks quite a bit. How much extra flannel do you think I should purchase? The quilt is 80x64.

Thanks!

Caroline S

I use flannel sheets a lot for quilt backings. Look at your local thrift store for good quality flannel sheets made in Portugal. You might not find one that coordinates with the quilt top but it is the backing after all.

ckcowl

I use flannel A LOT! you don't say if you are buying 40" wide flannel or wide flannel- if wide flannel you would need 2 yards (and will have scraps left over for a new project- if using 40" wide fabric 4 1/2 yards cut in half & stitched together you would have 78" wide (after removing salvages & using a wider seam because of the bulk of flannel) by (72+18=90) 90" allowing the extra needed for a backing. that is sewing a vertical seam- the 40" widths sewn together- the 4 1/2 yds cut in half to make the length. if you launder before cutting it you should have plenty in both directions...the shrinkage amount depends on the flannel used- a good quality double sided flannel only looses an inch or so, a light weight, thin, loose weave single sided flannel can shrink 6" or more (not always-but a possibility) the looser the weave the more the shrinkage.

tessagin

When I buy flannel, I always purchase an extra yard but don't know why I didn't think of buying flannel sheets since I have other sheets for backing!

ScrappyAZ

Thank you, ckcowl. To be on the safe side, I purchased 5 yards. After washing and drying the flannel, it didn't seem to shrink too much. I wasn't, however, prepared for all the lint! Wow...lots and lots of lint.