If you find yourself losing steam after your patchwork quilt top is made, you’re not alone. But wait! Finishing that quilt is going to be soooo rewarding. Here are some ideas to help you push on to make that quilt backing.
Get inspired by our modern quilt pieced backing ideas. These simple quilt backing patterns will take your quilts to the next level!
In this post, I share my conventional and not so common quilt back ideas for fabrics and piecing and choosing fabric for the backing.
A quilt back does not have to be boring. Sharing my 18 ideas for a pieced backing for quilts to make the design process a little easier.
Get inspired by our modern quilt pieced backing ideas. These simple quilt backing patterns will take your quilts to the next level!
Help! The fabric is not enough to back a quilt. Is that you? Check out 5 ways to make a quilt back large enough with the stash you have.
Get inspired by our modern quilt pieced backing ideas. These simple quilt backing patterns will take your quilts to the next level!
Get inspired by our modern quilt pieced backing ideas. These simple quilt backing patterns will take your quilts to the next level!
Stuck on what to do to the back of your quilt? Here are 5 ways to make the back of your quilt interesting plus a video with more ideas!
Not sure why quilt backs have been on my mind lately, especially considering the fact that by the time I finish a quilt top, I really don'...
Help! The fabric is not enough to back a quilt. Is that you? Check out 5 ways to make a quilt back large enough with the stash you have.
A quilt back does not have to be boring. Sharing my 18 ideas for a pieced backing for quilts to make the design process a little easier.
After all your hard work of making your gorgeous quilt top, make your quilt backing just as spectacular using one of these options
The only part of making a quilt that I do not enjoy is sewing the quilt back. I just hate calculating the dimensions, cutting the pieces and then sewing them together. There are many, many ways t…
This fabric calculator will tell you how much fabric you need for both a quilt and its backing. Standard mattress sizes are given.
Three easy ways to back your quilts with anti-pill polar fleece. Learn whether or not to use batting and two ways to bind your quilt!
In today’s post, you’ll learn everything you need to know about piecing your quilt backing. We’ll go over how to piece your backing step by step, how to determine how much fabric you need, and alternative options for when you don’t want to piece your back. After you’ve learned how to piece your quilt backing,...
What?
I made a doll quilt before Christmas and realized I’d never posted a tutorial on this quick and easy binding method. Since I know a lot of you are beginners…this is a really great way to dip your toes into binding a quilt. I especially love it for small things like hot pads,...Read More
Check out this video filled with quilt backing tips. Learn from the pros how to make a reversible quilt and what you’ll need to take into consideration.
Today I am going to attempt to help you figure out how to cut and buy the correct amount of fabric for the back of your quilt. This will be ...
[back from Low Definition 2 ] Over the last few weeks, I have been trying to pay more attention to the other side of the quilt--the quilt back! I have been perusing instagram, flickr, and quilt blogs, and thought it would be fun to put together a collection of inspiring pieced quilt backs.I ne
Three easy methods for using fleece as quilt backing. Check out the difference between using batting or no batting and two ways to bind.
Three easy methods for using fleece as quilt backing. Check out the difference between using batting or no batting and two ways to bind.
Back your quilts with polyester fleece instead of the usual batting and cotton backing layers? The result is warm, light, tough, and easy to wash. Tutorial from NewQuilters.com. #fleecequiltbacking, #quiltbacking
This is a very quick and simple way to bind a quilt! Once you’re done…
Learn how to piece a quilt backing no matter the quilt size. We've included a handy quilt backing chart to help you plan your backing.
Are you ready to make the easiest quilt ever? If so, read on to see how I made this easy quilt with no measuring or pattern required!
I know I’ve been doing some of my own tips and tricks on the blog here, but today I’m joining in on Amy, Diary of a Quilter, series of QUICK Quilting Tips and Tricks. She’s been accumulating lots of great tricks from bloggers from all over and I’m sure you’ll enjoy them. Be sure to ...
In today’s post, you’ll learn everything you need to know about piecing your quilt backing. We’ll go over how to piece your backing step by step, how to determine how much fabric you need, and alternative options for when you don’t want to piece your back. After you’ve learned how to piece your quilt backing,...
Back your quilts with polyester fleece instead of the usual batting and cotton backing layers? The result is warm, light, tough, and easy to wash. Tutorial from NewQuilters.com. #fleecequiltbacking, #quiltbacking
Warp and Weft Patchwork Flying Geese quilt pattern by emily of Quilty Love. Sew up this flying geese stash buster using fat quarters.
One of the things that I forgot to tell you in the last blog entry is why I sew the strips in the backing on an angle to lengthen or widen the fabric to fit the quilt. There are two reasons I do it this way instead of perfectly straight across or vertically. The first reason is because if you do it my way you don't have to be so careful when layering the quilt to get it straight on the backing. With my method you can be off a little and it will never be seen but with adding a strip parallel to the sides you need to be much more exact and keep that strip you added very straight and parallel to the top and sides as you layer the quilt. The second reason is that it takes less fabric to add more width to the backing. Yes - I said exactly what I meant. I will show you an example using orange copy paper. This first photo is of the copy paper before I cut it. (Pretend it is a piece of fabric you want to use for a quilt but it is too narrow to fit the quilt. First you make a diagonal cut lengthwise across the fabric (orange paper). The cut can be at any angle but make sure each end of the cut lands somewhere on the top and bottom of the fabric like the cut on the paper below. The next photo shows a ruler laid on the space (pretend I stitched a strip of fabric in this cut area.) It measures 1 1/2" Now comes the interesting part, remember I said it took less fabric to widen the backing if you put it on an angle? Well look at the next photo with the ruler laid on the area that would have the strip stitched in. It measures 1/8" less than the first measurement. This isn't much but remember this is a small piece of paper and not a large piece of backing for a quilt. Think in terms of a backing to make a large quilt and a larger strip could be stitched in and it would be a bigger difference in measurement. Another thing to note is the longer the cut (stretching it out and starting closer to the corners farther apart) the larger the difference in the two measurements will be and the more width you will get out of your strips. Look at the two photos below for this example. How you might interpret this into a real quilt is if you need a bigger amount to make the backing wide enough you might want to make your cut longer and cut almost corner to corner. I would caution you with this though, try not to make your cut the same difference from each of the corners and you won't have to be so particular on how you layer your quilt. (My examples are a little too even for my tastes.) Notice the ruler above measures 1 1/2" and the one below is 1 1/4" so it is a greater width gained by making the cut at a bigger angle. Does that make sense? The above examples are how to make the backing wider and the one photo below is how to make it longer to fit the quilt. You just cut from the right to the left sides. The same thing applies as to the longer the cut, the more you will gain in width from your strips. I hope this explains some of what I did on the Linus Quilt backing. I cut both ways on that backing. First I inserted the blue strip. I cut some of the length I added off so that is why it isn't placed exactly on the left side or right side. After stitching that strip in I re-cut it the other direction and added the white colored strip. Makes an interesting back and made my red fabric big enough for the backing of this quilt. As you can tell I didn't have enough of any of the light fabrics so they are pieced and I had to piece the length of blue too to make it long enough to fit in my cut. If anyone asks about this interesting back I will just tell them it is a design element not that it was necessary to make it big enough. I like to use a contrasting fabric from the main backing fabric to make it look like I intended to do it that way. You could use backing fabric to insert but the contrasting fabric is more interesting I think. Any of you math whizzes out there probably already know this and I am sure there is some geometry theorem that explains all of this but it has been too many years since I studied geometry. It works for me and that is what is important! Have most of my stuff ready for convention now - can't wait until Thursday. Lynn
I love the look of a pieced quilt back. In fact, there have been times when I’ve had enough of one fabric to make an entire back and have chosen to cut up that yardage, incorporate other fabrics, and piece one instead. What’s better than one pretty fabric on the back of a quilt? Many pretty fabrics! When it’s time to make my back, the recipe I follow is simple. I take a 2-yard cut of fabric and cut it length-wise. (I don’t bother removing the selvages.) I don’t like things to be too symmetrical, so I’ll cut the length about 25 inches from the left edge. Then I figure out how much fabric I’ll need to add to the center to accommodate the width of the quilt top. I head to my stash, and sometimes my scrap bin, to find coordinating bits. I sew them up in a column and attach the sides. Everything is laid out and ready to be sewn. I like this approach because it produces a chunky back, one that doesn’t compete with the top for the spotlight and one that’s not too fiddly to sew. This technique also helps me be a smarter stasher. When I find a fabric on sale that would work well as the main fabric in a pieced back, I buy a 2-yard cut of it. Most of my quilts are throws, so by buying 2 yards, I’m stashing enough fabric to cover the length of a throw-size quilt plus a few inches of overage. Ta da! One lovely pieced back. Not all my backs work out this way. There are those for which I needed to sew a 2-yard swath of fabric before cutting it length-wise and adding the center column ... Click here to read more about Bring on the Dancing Horses There are those for which I sewed something similarly chunky without following the 2-yard recipe ... Click here to read more about Good Day Sunshine. And there are those that included multiple miscuts, small bits of fabric, and headaches all around ... Click here to read more about Lotus Blossom. How about you? Do you piece your backs? And if you do, what trends can you identify in your approach? To see the finished quilt that goes with the pink and purple back at the top of the post, visit again soon. If the weather cooperates, I’ll take pictures and write a post later this week. : ) Linking up to Sew Cute Tuesday, Let’s Bee Social, and Needle and Thread Thursday ...
Learn how to piece a quilt backing no matter the quilt size. We've included a handy quilt backing chart to help you plan your backing.
Self-Binding Quilt Tutorial Self Binding means: Bring the quilt backing to the front and using it as your binding, I am bring this over from The Quilt Ladies, this post is used and asked for all the time, Thank you for that. Just a few days ago I received this comment on my original post: … Continue reading "Self-binding a Quilt Tutorial"
Quilts in 2022 are back! And I have been lucky enough to attend these and teach.
A complete step by step photo tutorial on how to match a print seamlessly. In this example we match a fabric print for quilt backing. Beginner friendly!
There is an easier way to bind a quilt: use the backing fabric. Learn how in this tutorial from NewQuilters.com. #bindingaquilteasy, bindingaquilttutorial
Quilt as you go tutorial - learn ths technique that helps you machine quilt BIG quilts with ease.
