Quilt Backing Ideas

The quilt top is finished and now it’s time to get to basting! But in order to baste the top into a quilt, batting and backing are needed.

This page is full of fun and creative quilt backing ideas. Some of the tutorials are simple and some are complex, but all of them work to get that quilt finished!

What is the easiest way to make a quilt backing?

The most simple way to back the quilt top is to purchase a 109” wide quilting fabric. This fabric is just like quilting cotton, but it is on a bolt that is 108” wide instead of the typical 44 inch wide fabric.

This option is most often used by beginning quilters because it eliminates seams and backing prep.

A similar way to make a back is to use a quilting cotton fabric that the quilter is used to sewing with. This quilting cotton can be used on the back as well as the front of the quilt.

Simply use the 44 inch wide fabric, cut it into the necessary number of lengths, and sew the selvedge sides together to make a large piece of one of the fabrics from the front of the quilt.

There are several quilting backing calculators below that will determine the amount of fabric necessary for the backing.

If the quilter is going to sew a quilting cotton from the front vertically for the back, it is recommended that a nondirectional print or a solid be used for the backing. This makes it much easier when sewing the pieces together.

Another option is to use a totally different type of fabric for the backing of the quilt such as minky or flannel. This can be tricky as the top and backing of the quilt will be made of different materials and can be difficult to keep from slipping.

This option is often used in baby quilts, using a soft flannel or minky fabric as the quilt backing.

What is a quilt pieced backing on a quilt?

When a quilter uses up fabric scraps leftover from cutting the quilt top to sew a pieced design on the back, they have made a pieced backing. Such quilt pieced backing ideas are very unique and oftentimes the back of the quilt is as beautiful as the front.

A portion of the design from the front can be designed into the back of the quilt. Perhaps the front of the quilt has a disappearing nine-patch. This motif could be pieced with fabrics from the front into a large disappearing nine-patch on the back.

I have heard of quilters using a pieced quilt as the backing of another quilt. This would be the ultimate in a pieced backing, but I don’t think I could bear to do this!

Another option is to use orphaned blocks from the front that may have been left over and sew them into the backing fabric. This is stunning and ties the front of the quilt and the back of the quilt together nicely.

Piecing the back of the quilt can be as elaborate or as simple as desired. Some quilters make beautiful backings that look like a work of art!

Scroll down this page to find many different ways to make a backing for a quilt. Whatever you decide, the quilt will be loved! And don’t forget the quilt label!