judy5cents

I am currently making two twin quilts. I am using wideback fabric for the back , it's good quality fabric from a quilt shop. I will have extra and was thinking of using if for binding. A friend told me not to do this as wideback fabric is not as strong as regular width fabric and the binding could show signs of wear before the rest of the quilt.
As I am making these quilts for someone else I thought I would ask for opinions here . Thanks

Chasing Hawk

Never heard of that issue. The one big piece of 108" wide fabric is a bit heavier than some of my other fabrics. But I wouldn't hesitate to use it for what I needed it for.

Iceblossom

My first thought is pfft, doesn't matter at all if the fabric is normal quality. I've certainly used extra wide fabrics on the tops of my quilts as well. I go ahead and tear off a straight of grain and often have quite a bit of usable fabric. Some of it is from the manufacturing and winding of the fabric and bolts, some of it from the cutting side but now I buy a full half yard more than I plan on with wide fabrics to take account of the cutting errors.

But then I had more questions -- would you be folding it over from the back? Using it straight grain, and which way, length or width? Or will it be bias?

My preferred method is bias French double fold binding, I cut a little fuller than most people 3" but I also typically use a puffier poly batting. I sew it on the front with my 1/4" seam before I trim the quilt, and then using that seam as my line, I cut 1/2" above the seam cutting through the batting and backing at the same time.

For long pieces whether I use them as borders or bindings, I prefer to cut along the length, not the width of the fabric (that is, cut along the selvedge). I find I get straighter cuts with less wavy than going cross grain. I still use the French double fold technique with straight grain, sometimes I miter and sometimes I butt joint, depends on the project and how well the fabric is behaving, usually it's just fine.

Macybaby

I've found most of the wide back fabric I have is a bit looser weave than the regular fabric I buy for quilting. However since the binding is double layer, I'd probably use it without worry.

Barb in Louisiana

I have self bound with a wide backing , and if you don't think that was a challenge, getting a double fold like regular binding, you would be wrong. Probably will never do it again. Much easier to do bias binding. I don't buy muslin fabric for my backing because of the very loose weave of some of it. I mostly use the cotton sheeting which has a tighter weave than a lot of fabrics and it comes in a 118~120 inch wide which works great for king size quilts. It works just fine for piecing or binding too.

Bottom line - In my opinion, if you like the fabric enough to do a backing with it, you should probably like it enough to do a binding with it.

Onebyone

Never heard of name brand wide backing cotton fabric being different then regular yardage from the same brand. Most is the same pattern as one of the designs in the fabric line. One thing I have self learned is never to use directional backing when machine quilting, it never stays straight for me.

ckcowl

I use wide backing fabrics for my binding all the time. I always use wide backing and I’ve never had one that was a lesser quality compared to 40” wide fabric. I have had pieced bindings wear out and need to be replaced- which i replaced with binding that didn’t need to be pieced. I’ve never heard of anyone having problems with wide backing fabric for binding- it would be the same as cutting your binding from the length of yardage instead of from the width- which I’ve also done

Tartan

If it’s good enough for backing, then it’s good enough for binding in my opinion. Of course I do double fold binding cut 2-1/4 inches, sewn to the front and hand stitched to the back.

judy5cents

Yes...this was my opinion as well....perhaps my friend is a secret member of the quilt police...lol or was being cautious.

dunster

Years ago I did run across wide backs that were not the same quality as other yardage sold in the same quilt shops. More recently I've seen good quality fabrics in wide backs. If the fabric feels good to me, I use the leftovers for binding or for piecing.