Originally Posted by
mac
This begs the question, why can't we use cotton sheets for backings if you are machine quilting? Anyone know the answer to this question?
Back in the 70's when I first taught myself to quilt (not too many books or classes out then, this was even before rotary cutters) I used a percale sheet for a king-sized quilt that I tied. The quilt lasted for over 40 years. Of course, nowadays I wouldn't mix percale with cotton fabric, but there are some good cotton sheets out there that you can get a good buy on when they are on sale. At the cost of fabric these days, it seems it would be cost effective to go this route.
Any opinions?
There is no reason you cannot use a sheet for backing. There are a few things to keep in mind. Some sheets are wildly off grain. I have used sheets for linking curtains for years, but one sheet was off grain my 18 inches and had to be tossed or the curtains would not hang straight. Sheeting can have a much higher thread count that quilting cotton, this is not an issue with flannel sheets. The higher thread count may lead to skipped stitches when quilting and may make hand quilting trickier.
Your quilt, use what works for you.