Why Wide Fabric Backing is Better!

I love wide-back fabric, or “backing” fabric for the backs of my quilts. To me, it’s the best thing since sliced bread! Let’s talk pros and cons of buying the wide-back fabric

First of all, this extra-wide fabric is typically sold as 108″ wide. Sometimes, it is up to 120″ wide. These are called backing fabrics and are made so that you have one large piece of fabric across the back of your quilt, rather than pieced fabric on the back of your quilt. A typical bolt of fabric is only 42″-44″ wide. So, you can see that 108″ is much wider than that.

First, let’s talk about the pros of buying wide-back, or backing, fabric…

These two backing fabrics are what I call “cheater fabrics,” as well. They look like a pieced quilt! What a wonderful way to make a quilt look reversible! Find these and other backing fabrics for quilts on Missouri Star Quilt Co. or click here!

Seamless Beauty

With wide-back quilt fabric, there is no need to piece the back of your quilt. You eliminate piecing and have a seamless back that lays flat and is straight. Seamless backs make me happy.

These three Missouri Star backing fabrics are gorgeous in every color! In fact, you can even find more colors on Missouri Star Quilt Co. or click here to see the full selection! They also have a ton of beautiful solid backing fabrics, as well!

Time Saving

Wide-back fabric just saves you time. Period. And honestly, my time is pretty valuable these days. If I can shave some time off of a finished quilt, it’s worth it to me. Wide backing is definitely a time-saver!

Price Point

Let’s talk money. Yes, wide-back fabric is more expensive per yard. Yes, when you see $17.99/yard or even $25.00/yard, you might freak out a little. But then when you learn that you only need 2 yards of that fabric, it starts to make sense. Heck, even the largest king-size quilt would only need 3 yards at the most. Now you’re looking at spending at around $50 total for your backing fabric. Whereas, if you going to buy regular-width fabric and piece it together, you would need much more yardage and if that yardage were $8.99/yard, you would probably end up spending over $75 for the backing fabric.

As you can see, backing fabrics come in a wide variety of colors and prints. Gone are the days of only solid wide-back fabrics! Now your quilt back can be just as pretty as your quilt front! Find these and other gorgeous backing fabrics on Missouri Star Quilt Co. or just click here to view the collection!

The Cons

I guess the only real Con that I can think of regarding backing fabric, is that sometimes you can’t find one that really fits the vibe of your quilt. For example, if all of the fabrics in your quilt are Star Wars fabric, and you had your heart set on a Star Wars backing fabric, it may be difficult to find wide backing with a Star Wars theme. However, you could always just use a solid color instead. I realize this doesn’t always give you the look you want, so that is why it is a Con. Some quilts just call for the right print on the back and it’s not always available in a wide-back.

Are Wide-Back Fabrics for You?

I hope this helps you consider wide-back fabric for your next quilt. It saves me a lot of time and money and I always find adorable backing for my quilts. Happy sewing!

‘Til next time!

Beth

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