Backing for Vintage Quilt
 

I'm almost through piecing a churn dash quilt top using 1930's prints. Now I've got to decide on the backing. I'm thinking I should stay with the vintage look and use a solid backing. All the quilts I have from my GGM (made many years ago) have solid colors on the back--no tone on tone and no small prints. Any ideas?

I would go with a vintage look as well. Muslin? Or are you thinking something a bit more colorful? I usually try to coordinate my backings with something from the front - colorwise, at least.

Grandmother would have used muslin - either unbleached or white.

I thinking about picking up a light color from the front--light green, light blue, etc. No yellow though because I seem to have a lot of yellow in the blocks.

I agree...... Grandma would have used muslin.

I don't know that I would agree. I have a quilt that my grandmother made with feedsacks and it does not have muslin on the back. Instead it also has a backing of feedsacks with an all over floral design on them.

I recently quilted a vintage quilt top, and I used bleached muslin on the back.

The only ones I've seen have been my GGM and they had a solid color (blue, red, etc), backing. I've also seen some when I've been "out and about" with the muslin backing but I've never seen one with a floral backing. BUT it makes sense if feedsacks were used for both front and back.

I think traditionally it would be muslin but I usually put something different because the muslin shows everything and tends to be weaker. So a small 1930 print for me. I would consider a solid 19 30 fabric or muslin if hand quilting or wanting the quilting to show up.

I'm hand quilting so that is why I was thinking about using a solid color on the back but a small 1930's print would be a good option that I hadn't really thought about.

I agree muslin would give the right look. However, you don't have to use old-fashioned muslin, to achieve that. I think I remember seeing a Kona cotton, which looked like muslin (but wasn't actually muslin). Kona also makes a Premium Muslin.

There are several solids that are 1930s reproductions also; they are sort of pastel blue, green, pink, peach. It seems like Connecting Threads had some solids in a collection like that.

Jan in VA

Thanks, Jan. I was hoping you would respond because I always value your opinion. I'm thinking of going solid in a pastel shade. All my "corners" are white so white on the back just seems like it would be too much.

I use unbleached muslin a lot..................

I have seen 1930's prints in wide backings at Keepsake Quilting if that is something you care about.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

I have a couple of old quilts, that have blues and greens as solid backings. They are from the 40's. I loved the Keepsake wide backings in the 1930's prints. I bought some when we were visiting back home last fall.