Hi I am new to quilting. I am making a cotton quilt top for a friend but I want it to be soft to snuggle with. Can I make the backing flannel or fleece. Will that look ok or will it pucker when quilted? Has anyone ever did that?

You bet you can. then you don't need any battening

You can do it, but you have to pre-wash the flannel, maybe several times. It will shrink differently from the cotton.

I do use flannel for backing with an all cotton top. I use batting between. As NP3 said, do wash your flannel a couple of times to get the shrinkage out of the way before hand. It makes the quilt so snuggly!

You can use either. Many people have more difficulty with fleece because of stretching, but it quilts nicely on a longarm.

I use flannel on the back of a lot of my kid's and baby quilts. Ok.. even adult quilts.. lol..
I haven't always pre-washed the flannel and it just made for a wrinklier quilt on top. I liked the look. It also shrunk the whole quilt about 3 inches, which was fine with me.
But I do think next time I will pre shrink.
And i use thin batting with it.

I use flannel a lot as I have a big stash of Chanteclair yardage. It is, after all, nice cotton with just a wee bit of cush.

I use flannel on most of my quilts, as I love the suggle feel. But, as others have said, make sure you either wash it or soak it in really hot water before use, as it does tend to shrink. I usually soak mine, then line dry

I use flannel as a backing all the time and I leave out the batting if it's a kid's quilt that is intended to be carried around a lot. If I want it fluffier, I use batting. If you pin and quilt it together in sections, you shouldn't have a problem with puckering.

I also do fleece and flannel quilts which don't need batting. Here's the posting http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-52843-1.htm.

I've never done cotton with fleece but I'm sure it can be done with no problem.

I'm currently hand quilting a top with a flannel backing. I washed it 4 times before it finally stopped shrinking. I asked a lot of questions before I chose the back. The only complaint I have is it is a bit different to quilt through. It sure keeps me warm as I quilt it! It does work fine and I have several quilts for my kids that have flannel backs. Some with batting, some without, all very warm.

If your making for a friend for winter quilt, then I would put some batting in as well as I know how cold the winters are there. Lived in Silver Lake and New munster area awhile.Hales Corner by isn't far from there!

Flannel is great on the back of a quilt. It is what I use on most of my lap quilts and baby quilts. I do not prewash the flannel as I do not prewash the cotton, and I haven't ran into any issues in the twenty-two years I've been quilting. I do however, wash the finished quilt in cold water, zero for delecates and 2-3 colour catchers. I find flannel is just so snuggly!

I've made several cotton tops with fleece backings (no batting) and also I've used batting in sections where I needed it to be trapuntoed. I have requests for 2 more. I've never used flannel backing yet. That sounds wonderful too.

I've had good luck with both!

Oh, I LOVE flannel on the back! SO soft! I still use batt though, perfect for those cold WIs winters!

I love flannel on the back & I still use w&n batting.

Sorry if this is changing the topic, but I have a question about backing and batting also that might fit in here. Have any of you used sweatshirt fleese for a backing, or used craft fleese for the batting? Sweatshirt fleese is very soft and just a little heavier than flannel , seems it would be good without a batting. Craft fleese doesn't stretch, , seems it would work as a light weight batting with flannel or cotton. Any ideas on this?

Glad you started this thread. My brother doesn't like the feel of fleece so I'm going to use flannel to back his quilt.
Flannel is so warm and cuddly, I love it.

I hav flannel backs and warm and natural batting on my heavier quilts. They're nice and I longarm quilted them.

Carol, you may want to start a new topic. Bet it will get more bites :D
I don't have an answer for ya.

Thanks alot it looks like I will try the Flannel. I am glad you told be to wash first I wouldn't have thought of that.

I have used flannel on several of my quilts. I like how snuggly it makes them. I always use batting, too.

I just backed a cotton top with fleece for my DGD. It's how she wants it and I aim to please. So far I'm not having any problem. All I'm doing is zigzagging over all the seams to make it rugged enough for her to drag it around the house. It is a throw size. The ZZ in the ditch looks good on the back too tho.

I have done it several times, but have never thought of washing the flannel, didn't know I had to.Now I know why I had all the problems.