Yes, that is true our stashes can get overwhelming and buying 1yd or less makes sense; however, I've run into this problem....when finally putting together the quilt, most borders, inner and outer, require at least 1.5 yds of fabric, so then you won't have enough to do a continuous border. While I love scrappy borders, depending on the quilt, sometimes you need 1 fabric for the border; otherwise it's too scrappy. Now that your fabric is no longer available at the stores, you have to search online and sometimes that can be pricey.
So if you can, purchase at least 1.5 yds of fabric that would be great for borders. And if you find a great sale, that's when to buy the backing fabric.
If you've got an outrageous stash, go to www.quiltville.com, Bonnie's got some great scrappy quilts that will use up any stash.
Kind Regards,
MaryAnna