question about backing fabric

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01-11-2009, 03:06 PM

#11

sewnsewer2

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Join Date: May 2008

Location: FL

Posts: 16,574

Thank you everyone.

The reason I am asking is because I will be making an heirloom quilt for a friend from her deceased hubby's shirts to be passed down from generation to generation.

She wants the best quality I can find. I'll post it in a few weeks when I'm done.

01-11-2009, 03:08 PM

#12

jstitch

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Join Date: Aug 2008

Location: Kansas

Posts: 590

Well, I hope we didnt make your choice more difficult with all our input..

Im sure it will turn out well..

01-11-2009, 04:10 PM

#13

Cathe

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Join Date: Jul 2007

Location: Minnesota

Posts: 1,097

I agree that a top quality muslin would be a fine choice.

If I were going to hand quilt it, I would not use a densely woven one, however. I have hand quilted through 200 ct fabric, and it's hard.

01-11-2009, 05:24 PM

#14

butterflywing

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Join Date: Jan 2008

Location: currently central new jersey

Posts: 8,623

Quote:

Originally Posted by jstitch

Quote:

Originally Posted by butterflywing

Quote:

Originally Posted by jstitch

I wouldnt have any issues with using Muslin on the back of a quilt.

After all, it was done that way for a hundred years or more and those quilts have held up nicely..

It is more cost effective..

And, I hadnt thought about the fading issue that babeegirl brought up, but that is a good point too..

Depending on the look you are going for, you might want to prewash it as some muslin will shrink more that other fabric, depending on the thread count and whether it is prewashed or not..some muslin says prewashed...

Good luck!

i hate to say this, but quilts made 100 years ago were not washed as often as they are now. so 50 years ago, they were already 50 years old, but seldom washed. with modern emphasis on cleanliness we wash linens a lot more. that's very hard on quilts no matter how careful we are. on the flip side, fabric is being made better, so we'll have to wait and see. ask again in 50 years. LOL.

While this is true, it is also true that dirt and light are the biggest detractors from the longevity of a quilt.. so by that logic, the dirtiest old ones that used muslin as backing would deteriorate faster..

Yes, we wont know for a long time if any of the fabrics we are using today will hold up.. but, IHO, if you use a nice 200 thread count muslin, you wont have any troubles. And Hancocks sells it for 5.99 reg price, and they put it on sale for half off fairly often.. and it comes in colors.. as well as white and unbleached...There are a few other brands of good quality muslin as well..

do they come in 120" or 108" for 96 x 96 quilts? that's my size choice.