I am still kind of new at quilting. With that being said I have not wanted to purchase expensive fabrics until I get better, so I have used sheets for the backing. A couple of the quilts I have made didn't line up really well when I sandwiched them so having the sheet hang over a lot at least gave me extra room on the edges so I didn't end up short. Another thing I have been doing is purchasing thin blankets (almost the thickness and feel of felt) for my batting at $5.00 each. Because of my frugality I have not put more than about $50.00 into a quilt yet. I'm not necessarily being cheap so much as not wanting to spend a lot in the learning process. New hobbies can be expensive if you jump in a start with top of the line everything....just ask my husband how much he has invested in my various endeavors through the years! LOL