I'm making a baby quilt for a friend in pinks and chocolate. I'd like for the backing to be a chocolate print or even solid (darker colors help hid stains!), but I want it to be super soft and comfy. Any suggestions on types of fabrics?

TIA!!

how 'bout a nice flannel? The colors rea incredible and the quality, if you buy good stuff, is great.

M

I agree flannels are the way to go for softness !
Sharon

I have also seen something called "minky" used for soft backing for baby quilts. I do believe it is synthetic, however and it is a knit. It is very, very soft and it is washable. I have never seen it in prints (that is not to say it doesn't) but I have seen it with a dot pattern in the knit.

Minky is so so so soft. But I wonder if it would quilt well. It's pretty thick, isn't it?

I does have a nap (good pun for a baby quilt, huh?) but I see it no more difficult to quilt than a medium batting. I've seen lots of stuff quilted with it (never used it myself other than for clothing) so I would assume it's not so awful. The quilt stores where my friend bought some told her to applique on it would be too difficult, but I had no problem with it at all.

M

There are different Minkees..

One is more like a flannel and holds up well to quilting..It is made by Moda.. but the Minkees are very pricey..

I would use a nice flannel, it comes in a 60 inch wide and they are very soft and durable..

I have used minkee as the backing for a baby quilt. The main thing to realize about the minkee is that it has a pretty good stretch to it. I ended up sandwiching my quilt backwards to make it work. Meaning, I taped the top, face down on my floor, then laid the minkee face up on top of it to pin it. I tried the normal way with the minkee taped to the floor, but it had too much give because of the stretch. I did not use batting since the minkee has some bulk to it. So, even though the minkee is expensive, I saved by not buying batting. Maybe I came out even money wise.

The Minkee made a great backing for a baby quilt. Hope that helps!

Hi! I have used Minky and Quilters Flannel for backing. The Minky can be quite slippery - so you have to do a lot of pinning, but it can't be beat in the "softness" category. It is not thick at all - and you can get some really cute textures pressed into the fabric - however, it is rather expensive just to do backing. Quilters Flannel is a little heavier and finer weave than standard flannel, and it works for a quilt back really well. Be sure you wash it first in warm water & dryer so it shrinks, because it will shrink different than regular cotton. Flannel also tends to "pill" a little bit over time, but overall it works well for a baby quilt. Good luck! Brown and Pink is so cute!!! Love it!!