How to Prepare Quilt Backing

Save money by making your own quilt backing.

The backing of the quilt might be an afterthought for many quilters, but it is as important to the structure of the quilt as the top or the batting. Commercial fabric manufacturers offer wide fabrics specifically for backing, but these fabrics can be very expensive for larger quilts. Purchase the same amount of yardage for your quilt backing in basic quilting cotton and make your own quilt backing. You will save a good amount of money and can create a custom look for the back side of your quilt creation.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Cotton quilt fabric
• Scissors
• Pins
• Sewing machine

Instructions

1. Measure the length of your quilt, then add 10 inches. This will be the length of your fabric strips. Double this amount to find your total running inches that you need to purchase. Round up to the nearest 1/4 yard.

2. Cut the fabric in half horizontally so that you have two strips that are your measured length and about 44 inches wide. Remove the selvage edges from both strips of fabric. These are the tightly woven edges that come on the sides of fabric strips and they should be removed instead of being sewn into a quilt.

3. Measure the width of your quilt, then add 10 inches. This is the total width of your finished quilt backing. Measure one of your fabric strips. Subtract the width of your strip from the finished backing width. This will tell you how much more you need to sew onto the sides to create a complete quilt backing.

4. Divide the leftover figure by two. This figure is the width of your secondary strips. Cut two secondary strips from one fabric piece, leaving the other fabric piece whole.

5. Pin the three strips together. Lay the main strip in the center and place one secondary strip on each side. Pin along the long raw edges with the right sides or more colorful sides, facing together.

6. Stitch these two seams together using a 1/4-inch seam allowance.

Tips & Warnings

• Mix up the colors in your backing fabrics to make a striped design on the back of your quilt.

References

• Quilt Lovers Guide: Quilt Backing
• Always Quilting: Making a Quilt Back