I think my days of quilting with flannel are over.
 

I just washed some flannel to use as backing on one of my charity kid's quilts. I thought there was an excessive amount of fluff on my dryer lint screen. After just one washing it looks like guaze! I can't remember where I bought it and it has no labeling on the selvage. I looked at flannel at our new Hobby Lobby and they had a minimal selection and it is even cheesier that JoAnn's. I'll use up my stash of flannel and then never buy more. It's a shame as they usually have some nice " big boy" prints.

That's disappointing. I am new to quilting and I was looking forward to making quilts for the little ones in my life with flannel backs, since those were the ones I loved the most as a kid. Hmmm, I will probably try anyway. But this is a good heads up.

I've found that kids (big and little) adore fleece on the back of quilts

I have sewn with a ton of flannel over the years & most brands are not made like they use to be.
Recently I used Moda flannel & am in love with it. It is a really nice weight, a tighter weave & super soft.

I've heard good things about Connecting Threads flannel. I've had mixed results with flannel from JoAnn's. Some of it pilled very badly (and so became batting rather than backing) but others purchased at the same time didn't pill. Can't tell until it's washed.

Connecting Threads flannel is nice. I made several baby quilts with it and it didn't shrink much at all. It's not linty either.

Buying flannel is a crap shoot these days.. you just never know till its washed what you've got. I have such mixed results .. I gave up.

i love working with flannel & use it alot in quilting- i do not buy flannel from joannes, hobby lobby or walmart---
i always make sure the description says---double sided flannel...makes a huge difference
the best (in my opinion ) is Benartex double sided flannel & Moda Woolies flannels- they are great- i've also bought lots of great flannels from fabric.com and a few other on line sites.