I never used flannel as a backing. Do you still need batting? its sounds neat. Does it FMQ ok?

I still consider myself an "intermediate" quilter and have made several quilts with flannel backings. One had flannel as batting too, and two had warm and natural. I FMQ'd one with warm and natural and flannel backing and it was no problem for me. I was using a dinky mechanical Brother. Had to clean the bobbin area a lot!!

Chairjogger, flannel makes a woooonderful backing. Last year I made a flannel quilt for my hubby and used some of these flannels:

http://www.thousandsofbolts.com/inde...rchsubmitted=1

They were very thick and perfect for my Man Quilt. In addition, they are a wide size. I set my stitch length to a shorter stitch but didn't need to because it was not a loose weave. I also starched the fabric before I cut, just in case. The only problem I had was minor -- it was a lot to handle in my smallish sewing space. That being said, his quilt turned out great because the flannel was superb.

Now, if I could get my MacBook to attach a photo here, I would, but the techno gods are not with me today.

I used "sleepwear" flannel..the kind that says "no for children's sleepwear" on it!....I think the brand is "snuggle"...it is at Joann's. But I wanted a thinner quilt for a 1 year old and couldn't find batting that thin and still soft...so I just bought the flannel and used it as the batting with fleece as the backing. It all worked great and a thinner quilt and soft. I always pre wash everything, but didn't know about the major shrinking thing. Didn't happen to me. Maybe it was the brand of flannel. But I will watch better for this next time, now that I know. I have one that I am t the FMQ stage, and used batting inside and flannel for the back...I wanted a thicker quilt, but the flannel on the back for softness and since I love my flannel sheets..thought this would be great and since my grand daughter and daughter like really soft cuddly blankets...they won't use my heavier quilts..so I am hoping this is satisfactory to them!

Yesterday I was in Walmart for that very purpose. They had just 2 bolts of "super flannel" for $3.97 per yard and the rest were super cheesy guaze-like for $2.97. I had to search for 15 minutes for someone to cut the fabric and she said everyone's hours are being cut---as the major holiday shopping season begins. I think you should buy the best quality flannel you can afford and pre-wash it twice to shrink it. You can then use a very thin batting or cheap flannel that has been pre-shrunk several times for the batting. I would not recommend that you purchase flannel from Walmart.

I seldom wash the cottons unless they are from garage sales or thrift stores. Flannels I always wash first since they do shrink some even if they are LQS quality. It's been my experience that they don't shrink at the same rate, so it is far better to play safe and wash all the flannels before using them. Flannels are great as quilts and so super as backing, too.