You have finished a beautiful quilt top like our Spring Medallion. Whether it is a artful expression in contemporary fabrics or a fabulous rendition of a traditional design, you need to make a back to move on to the quilting stage. And that back should hint at that glorious work on the front without detracting from it.
There are a lot of choices for your quilt back:
A Whole Cloth Back: You could seam together (see below) lengths of a matching or coordinating fabric (to the front) or find a double wide backing fabric to make a simple plain back all one fabric.
A Pieced Back: You could use up all the scraps from the front (and some of your stash!) to make a back. Try not to have a seam down either of the center lines as those areas tend to be where the first fold is. Check with your long arm quilter ( if you use one) for preferences/ limits on the number of back seams.
A Pieced Block Back: This is fun! Choose a block or design element from the front of the quilt and enlarge it for the back. This is a bit more work but makes for quite a memorable quit back! This sailboat would be great on the back of our Little Boy’s Toys Doll Quilt!
Back Art: Just go crazy. I know one quilter who does cityscapes on her backs. She stitches two like sized widths (From 6″ to 10″) of fabric together, sometimes straight and sometimes on the diagonal, then stitches these pairs into her backs so it looks like a skyline! The one below would be a wonderful back for our City Blocks quilt or even the Modern City Blocks!
Or you could piece your back into a large log cabin type block or a 9-Patch or crazy patch. Or how about adding some large scale applique… maybe the recipient’s initial or monogram!
A Flannel, Fleece or Minkee Back: Again check with your long armer but Flannel (Always pre wash to shrink) is soft and warm and can make a fabulous back for a cuddle quilt. And Fleece and Minkee are more alternatives for backs that may even eliminate the need for batting in some cases.
Now back to backs in general. Your quilt back should be larger than your top. Check with your quilter for their specifications, but generally, 4″ all around is a good starting point. This allows for some shrinkage in the quilting process and allows a little extra for attaching to the quilting frame.
I think the most important thing about your quilt back is it should make you smile! When the quilt is not in use, it will be the back that is seen, folded neatly on the shelf. It should have the clues to the quilt top it supports and perhaps be a work of art all on its own!
Looking for more quilts to make so you can make great backs? We’ve had a lot of fun with our doll quilts this year. Doll Quilts/Table Toppers/Wall Hangings are easy to make, a wonderful way to practice your quilting skils and easy to back to boot! And there are lots of other great quilt patterns here at LynBrown.com… Our Spring Medallion, lots of swap/scrap patterns and our Quilter’s Alphabet are keeping us busy this year! and there are more patterns available to peruse on our Etsy Site.
Here is the Quilt Back PDF with more info…
Thanks for stopping by…
Comments
2 responses to “How To Make A Great Quilt Back!”
Jeri, I would use the same stitch length as on the front… About 2.00.
Lyn, when you piece the backing, do you use a small stitch length like for piecing the front, or a medium stitch length? I have a Janome Gem that only does three sizes.