This tutorial will guide you through how to create a pieced backing with one or more fabrics/prints by calculating just the right amount of fabric you will need for your unique quilt top so that it fits perfectly.
Quilt Backings 101
There are some fabrics manufactured specifically to be used as quilt backings. These might be literally called "quilt backings" or you might see them called "widebacks". These fabrics are typically 108" wide instead of the 42" standard width of most quilting cottons so that they are large enough to fit up to a king sized quilt on their own without needing to piece any fabric together.
There are not nearly as many designs avaiable in wideback as there are in standard quilting cotton, as such it might sometimes be difficult to find the perfect colour and theme backing for your particular quilt. Plus, if you are not making a bed sized quilt, you will have a huge scrap left over at the end - and widebacks are $$$!
Most quilt patterns assume that you are not going to be using a wideback and are instead going to be buying fabric off the bolt at your local fabric shop. The fabric requirements will generally require you to purchase X amount of yards off the bolt, which is then cut down the middle along the length of the fabric and then rejoined along the selvedges to create a new piece of fabric wide enough to fit your quilt top.
While this can be more economical than purchasing a wideback and is a relatively straightforward way to create a backing, depending on the size of your quilt you may still have a fairly large scrap leftover using this method. Particularly if you are making a baby size quilt that is only just wider than the standard width of fabric or a small throw. Quilting cottons are not cheap either, so there is hard earned money invested into these large leftover scraps that you might never find another use for (or in my case, is put back into my fabric storage and constantly pushed aside when pulling for a new project because of its odd size and extra maths required to fit it into a new quilt pattern!).
So instead, I have begun piecing my backings that fit my quilt top perfectly using either one print or several prints for a scrappy backing.
A quick note before we jump into this - if this is your first time piecing a quilt backing and you find yourself a little overwhelmed with all the extra information and maths that I'm about to take you through, there are plenty of helpful tutorials out there to piece a quilt backing in the 'traditional' way!
It does take a few more calculations and brain work to put together, but you will end up with a backing piece of fabric that is just the right size for your particular quilt top. We are basically going to try to avoid using as much fabric as what is recommended in the pattern fabric requirements so that we don't have as much scrap fabric left at the end and can hopefully save you a bit of money along the way for your next quilt project.
This is also a great way to use some fabrics in your stash that have been sitting there waiting for the perfect project. Sometimes there are fabrics that are sitting in your stash that you LOVE, but just have no upcoming project for.
Lastly, it's a way to possibly be able to use a fabric that you find at the fabric shop that is perfect for your project, but there might not be enough left on the bolt to purchase the amount recommended on the quilt pattern.
Of course, it’s not a perfect method either. The main disadvantage of this method is that it’s not ideal for directional fabrics (fabrics that have a print oriented in one clear direction) - if you were using the one fabric for the whole back and if that’s something that’s going to bother you.
Some common jargon and abbreviations when talking about quilt backings:
Width of Fabric (WOF) - the measurement of fabric from selvedge to selvedge. Most quilting cottons are 44” from selvedge to selvedge, with a usable width of 42” after the selvedges are either cut off or used in the seam allowance.
Quilt sandwich – made up of the quilt top, a layer of batting (wadding) of your choice and the quilt backing fabric. The quilt backing fabric is laid face down (pretty side down), the batting is then laid on top and then finally the quilt top is placed on top of the batting face up. The layers are then smoothed and basted (secured) together by pins (I use curved safety pins), thread or a basting spray to prevent any shifting of the layers when you are quilting.
Overage – the extra amount of fabric added into your quilt backing that is larger than the size of the quilt top. If you are having your quilt professionally quilted by a long-arm quilter, the standard overage amount is an extra 4” on all sides of the quilt. This extra amount is so the quilt sandwich can be loaded onto the machine correctly.
If you are quilting your quilt yourself on your machine or by hand, an amount of overage will still be required but it doesn’t need to be quite so much as 4” on all sides. This is down to personal preference. I generally have an overage of 1”, but others prefer between 2 and 3 inches extra on each side to have a bit more fabric to hold onto while you are quilting.
Let's get started!
This post will cover two variations of the method – a pieced backing using only one print, and a scrappy backing with one main print and smaller sections of different fabrics that you could pull from your stash or scraps.
The method exactly as it is written below works for quilts that are around 80" wide or less. If your quilt is wider than this and you are having trouble modifying the calculations, just get in touch with me and I'll help you figure it out!
We’ll run through an example as we go through the steps, with the following assumptions:
- Quilt top size of 56” x 60"
- Required overage of 4” on each side of the quilt for professional quilting
-
Usable width of fabric is 42”
How to make a pieced backing with one print/colour:
First, we need to calculate how much fabric we need to source for your backing and then we’ll work out how to cut it up and piece it all back together.
Step 1: Determine the total length and width of your quilt, including the overage.
Length of quilt + overage on each length side = total length
Width of quilt + overage on each width side = total width
Example:
56” (quilt top length) + 4” + 4” = 64” total length
60” (quilt top width) + 4” + 4” = 68” total width
Therefore, the total size of your quilt backing will need to be at least 64” x 68”.
Step 2: Determine the gap in backing width.
This step will determine the amount of space of the total size of your quilt that is not covered by the WOF of your fabric as it comes off the bolt.
Total width – usable width of fabric = gap in backing width
Example:
68” (total width) - 42” (width of fabric) = 26” (gap in backing width)
Therefore, this means that the width of our fabric as it comes off the bolt will only cover 42” of the total 68”, leaving a gap of 26” to fill with additional fabric.
Step 3: Calculate how many pieces of additional fabric needed to make up the gap.
This step determines the number of pieces of additional fabric that will be needed to cover the length of the quilt (e.g. in our example, this is 64" length that one 42" strip will obviously not be long enough to cover).
Total length of quilt / WOF = round up for the total number of strips needed
Example:
64” (total length) / 42” (WOF of backing fabric) = 1.52 strips, rounded up to 2
Step 4: Calculate the amount of fabric needed for the gap.
Using the rounded up number of strips, we can now determine the amount of extra fabric we'll need to make up the difference so we know how much to purchase from the quilt shop.
Gap in backing width x number of strips = total yardage required for gap
Example:
26” (gap in backing width) x 2 (rounded up number of strips) = 52” of fabric needed
Step 5: Calculate total amount of fabric to purchase
Total length + total yardage for gap = total amount to purchase
Example:
64” (total length) + 52” (fabric for gap) = 116” total fabric (3.2 yards)
How to make a scrappy backing using one feature fabric and stash/scrap fabrics:
This method is perfect for using up fabrics in your stash that aren’t long enough for a traditional quilt backing, or if you find the perfect fabric at the shop but there isn’t enough left on the bolt to cover the whole back!
First, we’ll calculate how many pieces and the sizes of fabric you’ll need for your backing, then we’ll work out how to piece it all together.
Step 1: Determine the total length and width of your quilt, including the overage.
Length of quilt + overage on each length side = total length
Width of quilt + overage on each width side = total width
Example:
56” (quilt top length) + 4” + 4” = 64” total length
60” (quilt top width) + 4” + 4” = 68” total width
Therefore, the total size of your quilt backing will need to be at least 64” x 68”.
For our scrappy backing, the total length we have calculated here is the amount needed of your main fabric (Fabric A).
Step 2: Determine the gap in backing width.
This step will determine the amount of space of the total size of your quilt that is not covered by the WOF of your fabric as it comes off the bolt.
Total width – usable width of fabric = gap in backing width
Example:
68” (total width) - 42” (width of fabric) = 26” (gap in backing width)
Therefore, this means that the width of our fabric as it comes off the bolt will only cover 42” of the total 68”, leaving a gap of 26” to make up from your scraps or stash.
Step 3: Calculate measurements of pieces of extra fabrics to make up the gap.
This step will help determine the number and sizes of the pieces needed of extra fabric that will make up the difference in the backing width.
The example below assumes that Fabric B is a full standard WOF (i.e. 42”) and Fabric C will only need to be a small amount to make up the difference, but if your Fabric B is not a full WOF then you can add a Fabric D, Fabric E etc. until you have a piece as long as the total length of the quilt.
Length of Fabric B: gap in backing width x WOF
Example: a piece that measures 26” (gap in backing width) x 42” (WOF) of Fabric B
Length of Fabric C: total length of quilt – WOF of Fabric B = length of Fabric C
Example: 64” (total length of quilt) - 42” (WOF of Fabric B) = a piece that measures 22” x 26” (gap in backing width) of Fabric C
Does this method actually save some money?
Assuming our fabric costs $25 per yard, the total cost of the backing using the method of one print above would be $80. When calculating the cost of a scrappy backing, you can get as technical with the numbers as you’d like, but assuming we are only considering the new cost of Fabric A and ignore the sunk cost of any scrap or stash fabrics, in this scenario we would only need to invest about $45 into your backing fabric.
The quilt pattern would have likely called for 4 yards of fabric and this would have cost $100. By taking the extra time to calculate and piece our backing to size, we can save at least $20. Fabulous! Obviously the lower the gap in the backing width, the less cash you will save - but the difference is so worth it when you are just making a small quilt!
How do we put it all together to make a backing fabric?
The steps to make the backing fabric are basically the same for both variations of the method. The diagrams below will show the method for using the one print, but if you are making a scrappy backing, you can replace the Fabric B and C pieces with your scrap/stash fabrics.
Please note - the diagrams below are as close as possible but not entirely to scale!
Step 1: Cut down your full length of fabric
We are going to take the fabric that we purchased at our quilt shop (in our example, we purchased 116" of our fabric) and cut it down into the correct size pieces.
First we are going to cut our Fabric A piece. In our example, this will be a 64" piece. Next, we will cut the remainder of the fabric into two pieces that are 26" (the gap in the backing width) x WOF.
Step 2: Join the narrow panels together
Next we are going to join the narrow panels cut above (Fabric B and Fabric C) along the short/selvedge edge to create one long strip, using a 1/4" seam allowance. Press your seams open or to either side, whichever you would prefer.
Step 3: Attach the narrow piece to Fabric A
Finally, we are going to attach the long narrow piece we just created along the length of Fabric A, using a 1/4" seam allowance. Press the seam open or to either side. You will likely have a small amount of fabric overhanging off the edge which can be trimmed off and added to your scrap basket, but it's a much smaller scrap than you probably would have had otherwise!
It's all done! If you are quilting the quilt yourself, you can go ahead and create your quilt sandwich and secure the layers together using your preferred basting method. If you are having your quilt professionally quilted, your long-armer will have their own method of securing the layers together and you should be able to send it off for quilting as is!
I hope this was helpful for you! If you are at all unsure, please feel free to send me an email and I would be more than happy to nut out the calculations with you for your particular quilt top!