I, too, like my backings to coordinate with the tops. If I have not bought all the fabrics at the same time for a quilt, I will usually take the completed (or mostly complete) top with me while I shop so I do get a fabric that works with the top. In lieu of that I will at least take scraps from the top so I have a clue what shades work best. Then again, you get a specific color in your head and can't find what you want.....

i like wide back on my bedsize quilts so have a bolt of nice quality white muslin and will buy a dark backing if it's a quilt with enough black on the front that I need to use a black bat.

Hmmm.....I finished my chicken quilt top almost 2 years ago. I have 5....yes 5 backings I have bought, and I don't like any of them. I want it to match my border. Perhaps I should take a border sample with me when I find that perfect backing that never quite works. I wanted the binding to be the same as the border, but somehow, in the last two years, I have "misplaced" the binding fabric. So now. I need something that will match the border, and look good with the binding too!

When I order backing I have to take a complete yard, so no half yard cuts. So I order 4 yards of 108. I don't want to have to pay postage to send the whole thing to the longarmer, so I cut some off.

Twice now I have cut it in the wrong place, leaving two pieces both too short. It was the right backing but the wrong measurement.

Yes, I feel silly, yes, my stash is getting too big.

Peckish….will post pictures when it is quilted and bound.

Sew all those "border" strips together into one long strip. Then put together like a jelly roll quilt.
Sew them all up for charity quilts. Use the fabric you don't like for the backs.
That gets stuff out of the house that you don't know what else to do with.

If I have a quilt top that is "persnickety" about color, I take the top with me shopping so I can find the right color or pattern. I tend to be fussy about my backing matching, so many times I get backing fabric when I am buying the fabric for the front. Since most of mine are considered "gifts" I want everything to be just right, not "just good enough".

I don’t always care about the backing matching the front. Sometimes I use ugly fabric for the back regardless of matching just to use up the fabric. Other times I have to buy fabric for matching the front. Depends what or who the quilt is for.

Backing always sends me to the store to purchase something I think will "go" with the quilt. I usually settle for a blender, I have learned to only use blender colors that I like. Years ago, when I purchased a mattress in college, the salesman said,"Don't worry about the fabric on the mattress, it's always covered up by the sheet." But, everytime I changed those sheets I cringed at that hideous fabric. I don't want someone to cringe at that hideous back.

I shop at backsidefabrics.com. They will send you free swatches of up to 10 fabrics, and then you can order what you like. I Love their fabrics. They have up to 118" wide. Service is great. Prices are extremely reasonable. They have a huge selection.