Have a question - go to the experts - so here I am ....

I am going to make a civil war quilt and have the front designed and was going to purchase fabric for the backing but I am not sure what to do....
What did they do back then? I have searched here and googled it and there are not very many that show the back.

Would it be okay to use another repo print on the back? ??? or should it be a solid?

(back then) they used what they had available--
they pieced backs with left overs-
they backed their quilts with muslin
they backed their quilts with solid - hand dyed fabrics
they used old worn out blankets for battings

it is your project-
you can use muslin
you can use reproduction fabrics
you can use printed calicos
you can use solids
you can use prints
make your quilt- then when the top is done- go shopping--for a back.
i have made special quilts that i bought backing for- but by the time the quilt top was done i wanted something totally different for the back than what i had already bought...
you can use an old sheet if thats what you want.

I am a German quilter, so I know just what we learned in school about the American Civil War. (Which means we learned that there was a war!) But I absolutely love those reproduction prints and made a stack of Log Cabin quilts using them, and I used reproduction prints for the backs too. To tell you the truth: it never occurred to me to ask what the ladies back then used for the backing! I just used a reproduction print every time and loved the look - front and back.
Happy quilting!

I think I would use a muslin.

I only recall muslin on the backs of grandma's quilts. Too poor for anything else.

I actually got to see and handle several Log Cabins from that time. I remember a brown print that went with the tone of the front.

I have a couple of quilts my grandmother made in the late 1800's. She was born in 1868 so these are later than the Civil War. Are you wanting the be historically accurate? She used the printed muslim material that was the flour sacks that flour came in. These were pieced together to form the back. The batting is an old, worn out quilt and the top is made from out grown dresses and blouses from her daughters. These were everyday quilts used to keep warm, several on a bed; these weren't the top quilts used as bedspreads.

I have seen my sister do the backing as a large log cabin block, this can be planned out and you can use up some fabric you have.
It was an awesome quilt, with the center being red, darks on one side and lights on the other.
Enjoy!

That is such a cool idea for a log cabin quilt back! Would love to see pics of that.