Buying bolt of fabric for backing
 

I'm thinking about buying a few bolts of fabric to be used as backing for my quilts. I'm in Canada and buying fabric is not easy, so I rely mostly on my stash. I buy everything online and have it ship to my US adress. However, I don't buy more than a yard or two of fabric so when the time comes to find backing for my quilt, I'm stuck. I do mostly lap quilt and find using solid fabric for this boring.
I don't want to buy a large lot of bolt, maybe three or four only. What kind of design and color would you choose for this? What would blend nicely with a large number of colors and design? Floral? Geometric?
Did you ever bought a bolt or a very large amount of yardage of fabric to serve as a go-to backing? Thanks!

I would choose a tone-on-tone in a white and off-white. Maybe also some geometric. I think the color choice would also depend on the colors you normally choose for quilts. If you choose a lot of bright colors, then I would say definitely white. If you choose more earthtones then get some cream colored backing.

I agree, if you are going to buy a lot for backing with no specific quilt in mind for it, I would go for a tone-on-tone. Some of the Stonehenge fabrics come in wide widths and plenty of them are neutral that would go with anything.

I find that I use a lot of the same few colors in many my quilts, so I would go by my stash in selecting colors if I was purchasing a large amount. As for style...marbles or other tonals/blenders generally go well with a lot of different prints. Stonehenge, Moda Marbles or Marble Swirls are nice, Wilmington Essentials are nice...subtle designs, so not too plain.

I think it really depends on what style of quilt you usually make!

I tend to make dark colored quilts, so I bought a whole bolt of 108" wide solid navy blue fabric that serves me very well. I also buy wide natural-colored muslin in bulk when I find a good deal on the better quality kind, so between those two options I usually can make do with what I have on hand. I do still buy printed fabric for specific quilt backs sometimes too.

I'd also like to get a bolt of wide flannel, I am thinking a medium grey color would work pretty well for my quilting habits. But so far I haven't found a bolt in quality I like at a price I'd be willing to pay.

I make mostly modern quilt with a lot of white, so I like to use something that will "pop" a bit for backing. I'm looking to buy some bolts from Textile creation; they have 15 yards bolt for 2-3$/yard. I'm thinking to get a crossgrain motif in grey, really tone on tone and grey is a great blender. I'm thinking about getting also a blue pearl bracelet (from Lizzy House) because I use a lot's of blue in my quilt. I'm also tempted by a large floral motif in green, grey and cream but I'm less sure about it. The price is not really the main issue (fabric here is sold for 15$/yard, so buying a 40$ bolt is quite economical). Space is more an issue, my studio is already full and I don't want to have a bolt sitting unused in a corner.

Are you looking for wide widths? I think not, since you said you do lap quilts.

A batik is always a good choice. You can find color variations without getting too wild.

I but natural muslin by the bolt for backs as well as Kona white and Kona black by the bolt because I use lots of these.

You might consider alternatives. Some people use inexpensive, lower thread count sheets. If you use a longarmer, check with her/him first to see if this is acceptable. Sometimes you can find twin flat sheets on sale for $2-3.

I agree with the tone on tone. For me it would be hard to buy too large of an amount but I did find this wonderful white on white with holly leaves so bought a lot - not sure but I think I bought about 10 yards because I like to make Christmas quilts. I bought a lot of flannels when it was on sale for $1.00 a yard at Joann's a few years ago - and have given a lot of it away because it was sitting there and just was never quite right for what I was making. So think of what you do make and go from there.