sharie101

Hi, I'm a newbie here, been lurking for about a month now. I'm very curious about quilt backings. About 99.99999999% of the time, the backs are just some kind of fabric that ties in somehow (or not) with the front. But essentially, plain. How come? I know there's no rules, but how did this evolve? Why don't we do equally nice "backs" so the quilt can be reversable? Or...use all the left over pieces from the front and create sort of a crazy quilt backing, it would still be really nice reversed. I don't get it!

bearisgray

Some people do all the things you've said.

raptureready

You can. Reversable quilts have been around probably as long as quilts have or at least almost as long. A lot of people are using their left over fabric and piecing it together to back or at least partially back their quilts. The down side is that if several seams happen to meet in one spot it can be a booger to quilt.

franie

I often buy good quality fabric on sale in large quantities just to be used for backings. I don't mind the piecing. Often when I quilt for others they use muslin but that's their preference not mine.

Boopers

I usually use any left-over fabric from the front, piece it together as back-art, with any left-over blocks and use it as the backing for the quilt.

Maride

I usually like to make fancy quilting and like to use a solid color for the back so that the quilting can be well appreciated. If the quilt was painted or pieced in the front the quilting may not be as easily noticed, but when is flipped over, it really shows.

lazyquilter

I agree with Fran.. if it's really a fun quilt or a child's play, nap, carry, car seat quilt.. muslin just continues to get softer and softer each time it's washed. My two grand daughters, 23 and 25 have every quilt that I ever made them, all with muslin backing. Didn't know what I was doing and couldn't afford to much of anything at the time.. and these quilts are actually still being used to day (surprising the heck out my, not one seam or row ever came close and most were blocked up to 4 different sides... but they are soft and comfy.. so I still carry a nice muslin on a bolt (half now) to use for backings.

brookemarie19

I've seen it done both ways, but I think people pick a solid to that the stitching designs can be seen better.

katier825

I only use plain on wallhangings. I rarely buy wide width fabric. Sometimes I piece the back with one fabric, sometimes I add other fabric or blocks to it. Once I did the whole back w/10" blocks of leftovers from the front. The plain shows off the quilting, but I'm not that good at it yet to want to show it off! LOL

littlehud

I have some quilts I have done with a patterned back. I just have a hard time quilting them. It works on the front but not on the back unless they match perfectly. I haven't been able to do that.