Has anyone ever used cotton sheeting to back a quilt??? I have my dresden top finished its 97" square, I'm going to hand quilt and thought one big piece of cotton sheeting might work. That way I have no seam joining the fabric in the back. If you have or haven't used it any opinion is appreciated
Thanks
karen

get ready for 18,476.582 opinions. LOL

personally, i think sheets are fine if you can find them soft enough to hand quilt through and they save you money. i usually use sheets only if i'm machine quilting.

I'm not above using a sheet now and then either - just make sure it's 100% cotton, or there can be piling problems down the road. It is a lot harder to get through with hand needle, so have a good thimble.

That is about all I use for backing fabric for larger quilts as then you don't have any seams.....but I either tie or machine quilt mine too ....I don't know how they would hand quilt. I usually buy the king size sheets at Walmart for about $14 so its cheap backing too!

I have only used sheets on the back of a quilt when I want flannel. Your motivation seems to be to have a seamless backing. That being the case, I would get some of the very wide backing sold in quilt stores. They are printed and look more appropriate with a quilt than do sheets.

M

Take your coupon and use it at Joanns for the extra wide fabric. 108 wide. And buy 100 in and get 40 or 50 percent off

i wasn't up to doing any sewing last night so i decided to read my Complete Guide to Quilting and i read about using bed sheets for backing and this is what it says in book. I'll quote from book:
TIP: Bedsheets for backing- don't do it!
Although it's tempting to use a bedsheet because of its size, sheets don't make good quilt backs. The thread count is much higher in sheeting than in common quilting fabrics. The tighter weave causes the needle to break the sheet's threads when it pierces through, rather than pushing between the threads as it does with quiting fabric, thus leaving holes and diminishing the stability fo the sheet.

I haven't finished a quilt to do any quilting so i don't know how true this is, i guess its up to the individual if they choose to use bed sheets. I just thought i'd pass on what i read last night. Good luck with your choice.

Denise....I bet they are talking about hand quilting tho... I have never broke any needles quilting with my machine. I am sure I read somewhere that hand quilting with sheets is next to impossible.

I'd love to use a joanns coupon, one problem, we dont have Joanns in Canada .....darn

The title of the page is PLANNING THE QUILT BACK
this area speaks of how to determine the measurement and how many pieces are in the backing. Then at the bottom of page is this Tip that i posted above. It doesn't say about the needle breaking it mentions that the needle causes the sheet's threads to break when it pierces through, then pushing between the threads as it does with quilting fabric.