How To Make Quilt Backings

In the automated world of today, almost everything is made with the help of machinery. There is hardly anything, be it clothes, quilts or shoes, in which too much human effort is involved. In fact, people think about making something on their own only as a special gift for someone or as a crafts project. In both the cases, making quilts is quite a popular option. It does not take much time and the end product is useful as well. However, majority of the people know how to make only the front portion of the quilt and have to source the backing from the market. In case you are one of them, this article will surely prove handy. In the following lines, we have listed tips on how to make quilt backings, for a full size '74-by-94' quilt (with a 10-inch drop on three sides and a 10-inch tuck).

Make Backing For Your Quilt

Supplies Needed

6 yards Cotton Fabric
44-45 inches wide Standard Laundry or Quilt Detergent
Iron Scissors
Sewing Machine
Bucket
Water
Mild Detergent
Iron
Pins

Instructions

First of all, you will have to cut the cotton fabric into two sections, each of them being 3 yards long. Make use of iron scissors for the purpose.
Now, get a bucket of warm and add a handful of mild detergent to it. Wash the fabric in this solution and allow it to dry. Washing the fabric beforehand will allow the shrinkage to take place before you start sewing it.
After you have washed the fabric and allowed it to dry as well, it is the time to iron it and get rid of all the wrinkles. If the wrinkles seem to be too stubborn, make use of a steam iron.
Take one of the cut fabrics and fold it over, lengthwise, in the same way it comes on the bolt. Now, iron the fold, so that a creased line forms at its place.
Leave the folded fabric aside for sometime, to let it cool down. Thereafter, cut along the folded line, created in the previous step. This will provide you with two narrow sections.
Make use of pins to attach the selvage edge of one narrow section to the edge of the wide section, keeping right sides together.
Now, sew 1-inch away from the edge. If you feel that the edges are particularly wide, you can sew further than one-inch away as well.
Repeat the above two steps with the second narrow piece of fabric and the other edge of the wide section.
Making use of the iron scissors once again, trim away the selvage edge, while making sure to leave at least a ¼-inch seam.
Finally, use the iron to open the seams. This will help you create a flat backing, without excess thicknesses to be quilted.

Tip

Make sure never ever to sew on the selvage edge of the fabric. Otherwise, you will end up with roughness and bumping in the backing.

How to Cite

Related Articles

See also

More in 'Art & Entertainment'