DH and I were talking. I had bought quilt backing 108 in. I purchased 4 yrds.
DH who is very good with figures said to me, perhaps you would be better off buying your fabric that you need with the width of 108 in, you would need less yardage and it would cost less then yds of 45 inches.
Do you think that is a good idea??

If I am buying wide fabric I do this. I also turn the batting whichever direction saves on yardage.

I haven't worked with wide fabric yet. I'll be watching the responses here, though. You've got me curious!

Oh,and a lot of the fabric I've purchased lately isn't 45 inches wide any more.

Yes, except for the limited selection.

Has anyone seen batiks in 108?

I think Sew Batik has them. Some long armers sell it. I've seen their fabric at quilt shows and it's beautiful.

i had a 50% off coupon and the only fabric that was not on sale was this 108" backing so i bought it thinking it would come in handy some day. i, also, realized that the price was the same as the 45" fabric. i had never bought the wide fabric for backing before and i thought the same thing. however, the selection was very minimal.

Hancocks of Paducah has the wide batik fabric - think it was about $20 per yard - twice what the regular width fabric was - it was $10 per yard.

think Connecting threads has a fair selection, not just neutrals

DH and I have had this discussion before as well.... and as one stated above... the down side to this is the limited selection of patterns/prints

but otherise. normallyit does figure out cheaper to buy it in a wider width.

I have purchased wide backing fabric several times for just that reason! (Math has always been a passion of mine!)

I used the wide fabric on the first quilt I made because it worked out to be cheaper when you figure all the square inches you get. It worked great but was a lot to juggle when I had to cut it.

Yes, if you buy one and a quarter yard (45") of wide fabric, that's the same as 3 regular yards. So, if your backing is $10 per yard, you'd pay $12.50 for it, the same as $4.17 per yard of regular width fabric.

My favorite eBay fabric seller carries over 100 108" wide fabrics, including marbles and tie-dyes, WOW, tone-on-tones, antique-looking prints on natural and tan.

At $8-10/yd, the wide backings do, indeed save money over the 44-45" wide fabrics, which run $6-7/yd in her store. I buy my WOW prints in this width because I use them so much.

She doesn't sell junky stuff, either - her fabrics are very nice quality for the price. :)

http://stores.ebay.com/QUILT-UNIQUE-...=p4634.c0.m322

unless you get a really good deal then it is less expensive to buy the wide fabric. A simple math check is
3 yds of wide = ?$$
6 yds of 45" = ?$$

Our local $1.99 Fabric Store recently had wide backing at $1.99 per yd. Now that was a deal - so 3 yds= $6.
6 yds of 45" at $1.99 = $12. \\

All their fabric is $1.99 and some good quality. I say this just to make you jealous. But I understand during the bad snow storm here the roof fell in. I believe they are back in business tho.

It definitely depends on prices, but I have quilted a couple with wide backs and I loved them with no seams.

I've found that the wider backing fabrics are thinner than standard quilting cottons, a major hassle to wash-press-fold-store-cut, and very limited in selection, as has already been mentioned. For those reasons, it's just not worth the couple dollars savings to me.

She really does have good prices! I just checked it out. 8.95 for 108" stuff. amazing.

I didn't know this, I will have to watch.

I know that Tonga has the 108" batiks in quite a few colors schemes. They run about $16.75 a yard but went to the wholesaler and found the same and their cost/price was $7.50 a yard but had to take the entire bolt. So if you have a tax number, that would be the way to go. Haiks fabrics in Springfield, MO is the wholesaler and they supply stores nationwide.

There's a very good discussion on this topic here.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-72578-1.htm

I like wide backs. After wrestling with a queen or king quilt to get all the borders on, I am glad I do not have to do the same seaming the back. I have found a good selection here. I prefer that to a sheet as it is hard to get sheets for a good price that are 100% cotton.

When buying wide backs, make sure they tear instead of cut the edges, same with wide muslim. Folding and rolling wide fabric on bolt distorts it and cutting will leave uneven edges. All the local stores including Joann's tears wide backs.