butterflywing

how much yardage do you use for making a quilt back for a lap quilt? a baby quilt? a twin? a double? today's queen 90 - 98 square, and a king - 110" x 110"?
in both regular and 108" width. or 120", which i think is too pricey.

BellaBoo

I buy backing fabric when it's on clearance. I buy at least 7 yards. jWhen Connecting Threads has fabric marked down to less the $3 a yard and that's what I buy for backings. I don't try and matchy matchy my backing to the front but get a good co ordinating color or print. Backing is one of the biggest expenses of the quilt and I don't like to spend big $ for it but want quality stuff.

butterflywing

7 yards for what size? is that with piecing it?

i use over 9 yards for a queen when i make 3 strips. my quilts are about 95 - 98". i would guess it's the same for a king, yes? i use over 3 yards for that same size when i get 108" from joann for $4.99 with coupon. you're right: it's one of the most expensive parts of the quilt.

is everyone using the same amount? what about another way that saves fabric? anything?

BellaBoo

7 yards is just my standard backing amount I buy when fabric is a good price. I use the tube method of making a backing. Unless my quilt is special I use a co ordinating fabric for the two sides and one different fabric for the middle panel for king size. 7 yards gives me enough for the two panels or several middle panels.

MadQuilter

If you want to use all the same fabric on the backing, then I suppose you are stuck with buying yardage. I never know just how big my quilt is going to be so my backing is figured off the measured size + a healthy chunk for overage and stash.

I have seen some nice back art and am working at the courage to use up stash for backing. So far my back art has been limited to a center panel flanked by coordinating fabric on the side.

katier825

Quiltville has a table to help you figure out what yardage you need.

http://quiltville.com/backingyardage.shtml

There are a few sites that have 108" wide for $5-6/yd. I don't know what the quality is. I do plan to try some eventually. I just have everything I need for backings at the moment. If I remember correctly, Marshall Dry Goods and Whittles fabrics were among those in that price range. I just purchased regular width at $3.95/yd at Thousands of Bolts because I wanted a certain print for the back. Boy are they quick too. I got my UPS tracking number less than 4 hrs after I ordered!

Jim's Gem

I have several little "card" guides that tell me how much I need for a back, however: I have found them to say different amounts. The one in front of me at the moment says : Twin 5 1/4 yds, Double 5 1/4 yds, queen 7 1/2 yards and King 8 yards.
I buy fabrics for my backs when I can get a great deal. I have a shop that recently closed ( :cry: :cry: ) that would have a sale on New Years day and a selection of quilting fabrics would be on sale for $1.69 a yard. I would buy the rest of the bolt on one's I like. 8 - 10 yards on others if possible. I have enough backing fabric laying around here right now to back, oh ummm about 75 quilts. These pieces are from 5 to 17 yards. I can usually find one out of my stash that will work for whatever I'm doing. I keep my eyes open for great sales and I make sure that it is good quality fabrics. Just got 2 more large pieces at a garage sale Saturday for $2 per yard. A 10 yard piece and a 5 yard piece and several others for a total of 32 yards.

dunster

I try to use up all the extra fabric (and extra blocks) that I didn't use on the front.

butterflywing

according to this chart, i should be able to back my quilt with 6 yds. no way, jose. i've never gotten away with less than 8-1/2 - 9 yds. i use one entire length down the center and 2 more runs, one on each side for the sides. that makes 3 lengthwise runs. the only way to use less is to have a quilt less that 90", which only gives a 15" drop on each side. 15" doesn't even get me to my siderail. that chart says it's for 72" and under. also, think of today's boxes and mattresses. that changes everything.

buying it online: has anyone done that with the wide backings? the shipping makes it pricey even on sale. that stuff is HEAVY! i'll have to check and see what happens to the shipping if i attach it to a larger order. then it may amortize itself.

butterflywing

i've never tried that, but cheapie me likes that idea.