Originally Posted by
Tartan
When I have a pattern that uses a lot of background fabric, I figure what I would need to cover the whole surface area with the background fabric. Yes, you will have extra fabric but I just use it up on the back or add it to my stash.
When I use a plain (mostly bone, type of white, or black) for background fabric, this is exactly what I do as well. I'm always needing to refresh my stash for these colors for background and like to keep a lot on hand. I usually buy them by the bolt, especially when they are on sale, whether I need it at the moment or not, keeping at least a 1/2 to full bolt on hand.