Backing fabric - how to piece?
 

I'm asking this because I'm curious to know what approach people would take. I've just finished a quilt top that is 56in by 49in. I have over 4 yards of my backing fabric, which is 44in wide. The look of the finished quilt matters more to me than being economical with the fabric. How would you cut and piece it?

I'm curious about this as well and look forward to the replies. Thanks for asking a great question!

I was under the impression it should be a full width of fabric in the center and the lesser equal ones on the sides.

This is the best way I know to make it look good.
https://siterepository.s3.amazonaws....onalpb1103.pdf

I usually cut backing piece and insert something pieced to get more width. I like to use up orphan blocks or leftover scraps from the front. If you are sending your quilt to a longarmer, ask her/him if they have any preferences on seams. I prefer mine vertical if possible. I am also a sucker for a pieced back (I HATE to piece them, but LOVE them when they are done! Go figure!) Piecing backs appeals to my thriftier side. I like to use up the scrappy stuff, so I can save the longer yardage for big quilts or borders.

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Who says learning algebra is a waste of time?! :D Saving this in my "good to know" file! Thanks!

I don't care for the John Flynn method because of the long diagonal. It's hard to cut, hard to sew, and even harder to keep it from stretching.

Assuming a 3" extra all around (so the backing needs to be 62"x55") I would cut one length that is 62"xWOF, cut off selvages, and make the second piece 62"x whatever is needed to make the width 55". I really wouldn't expect to notice where the seams are on the back, but I would prefer that one not be too close to the edge of the finished quilt.

The exception to this would be if the quilt is going on a longarm. In that case the backing seam should run parallel to the rails. You might need to change the direction of the seams in that case, depending on the quilting design, and then I would definitely think about keeping that backing seam away from the edge of the top, which might require a different layout.

When I'm going to do a pieced backing from one large piece of yardage like you have, I will cut the fabric in half, giving me two 2yd pieces, turn them sideways, and sew them together on the selvedge edge. This gives you a large enough backing.

Cari

I do what Cari does... I measure a piece of fabric the (smaller) width of my quilt x the width of the fabric (40-44 inches wide). So I would need 2 times the width plus about 6 inches that I cut in half. Then I trim and sew the selvedge side to either another selvedge side or my favorite is to piece a width of the quilt with fabric scraps from the front. So that I don't have to match the fabric on the back and the seam isnt' as noticeable across.
here's one I did that way: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/118782508899891458/

Often that way I can also decide to use two different fabrics altogether! Here's one such example:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/118782508903439498/

The only time it doesn't work is if you use directional fabric!

eta to my last post - I quilt on either my domestic sewing machine or a sitdown quilting machine (not long arm). If you use a long arm, you might check to see if the horizontal seams on the backing will be an issue. But personally I would think the vertical seams would be more of an issue depending on how the quilt was loaded to be quilted on the long arm. just one more reason I love my sitdown!