Originally Posted by babeegirl
what I can do is get 2 backings. For the quilt and then use the pirate backing to make a whole new quilt. It's not absolutely essential that both are together. I'm more concerned with the CR quilt turning out the best it can. Fiance would love it just as much or even more if I got some of the beatles fabric for the backing.
That sounds like the best idea! It would be lovely to have the panel as it's own quilt. For one, you would probably want custom on the french braid and unless the quilter uses mono-poly (clear thread), the back (or the panel) will look messy and detract from the panel look. Whereas, if you quilt the panel separately, you can have the quilter use a nice red thread for a background fill and crosshatch the squares around it.
Use a nice black and white busy backing for the french braid and a red and black backing for the panel quilt. There are some really nice red and black batiks out there that would look great on it, if you want to spend the money. I always try to get the top maker to select a backing to match the thread they'll want on the quilt.
Good luck and post photos when they are done!