lindaschipper

When do you buy your backing and binding material? When you buy fabric for the top of the quilt, or after that is complete and you know how much you will need to complete the quilt? I have a couple toddler quilt tops I've made and now am in need of backing/binding for all these. Buying all that is needed at the same time can be expensive. I have pieced partial yardage together for some, but now am out of really good matching fabric and headed to Joanns this morning. Should I have purchased backing along with the top fabric?
I won't use sheets for my backing...just aren't pretty enough in my opinion.

Three Dog Night

I have a stash of packing fabrics on hand. Keepsake Quilting and MSQC have 3 yd packs of 108" backing fabric on sale often. Check out Keepsake on their Wideback Wednesdays, the 3 yds are usually around $35 and I look for fabrics can be used with almost any quilt I make.

Gemm

I try to keep my eyes open for good lengths (2-3m) of quilting fabric at thrift stores (where I do much of my fabric shopping due to budget constraints). Sometimes I've been lucky enough to find a piece that could be a good fit for a number of different colourways/quilt types. I have a couple of pieces right now that might even inspire what I do on the front - we'll see once I've cleared out some of the WIPs first...

joe'smom

I wait until a top is finished before I decide what sort of backing will look best. Depending on the quilt, I will buy the binding fabric when I buy the fabric for the top.

I only buy fabric on line, so I check the clearance sales first when buying backing fabric. I've found some pretty good deals on Etsy

dunster

I buy wide backs, mostly from Keepsake, when they are on sale. I usually have one in my stash that goes well with any given top. I also piece backs from yardage in my stash. Usually I have enough scraps from the top to use for the binding. Since I quilt on a longarm, and need an extra 4" of backing all around, that is usually plenty for binding if not enough was left from the top, and if it matches the top well enough.

However all the above depends on having a good stash. If you're one of the wise people who buy just what is needed for a particular quilt, then I would recommend buying fabric for the binding when you buy the fabrics for the top. If it's a big quilt, consider buying a wide back on sale, or try to use up scraps from other quilts.

Peckish

I have no hard and fast rule about when I purchase backing. I have one quilt that was still in the designing-in-my-head phase, I spotted 108" backing that was PERFECT and bought it right then and there. Others sit and wait for months or even (gulp, red face) years.

cashs_mom

I wait until the top is finished. Then I shop my stash. Sometimes I have a piece of fabric that's big enough to back it with already on hand. I've also bought backings in colors I use a lot (like black) when it's on sale and kept it for the next project it will work on.

Karamarie

I usually wait until the top is done then shop for backing. When I quilt, I don't always follow a pattern but fly by the seat of my pants and see how much I need when done with the top.

LAF2019

i usually wait until the top is done. for the simple reason that I never know if I will actually finish the top I start! plus sometimes I find a way to get away with using leftovers in my stash or from the top itself in the backing.

WMUTeach

I generally do not purchase the back until I am finished with the top. The reason is I seldom purchase all of the fabric for the top. I use from stash and depending on how it all shifts out, I may want to choose a different color or fabric for the back than what I would have originally, perhaps emphasizing a different color that I originally considered. I almost always use the backing fabric as my binding. I do still have a very few cuts left in my stash that are backing size for larger than baby quilts, but very few. Good question.