Fleece as backing ,instead of batting and backing fabric
 

Has anyone ever used fleece,under quilt top and eliminate the batting and backing? If so, how did it turn out,any problems? Thanking you in advance for your help, Michele

Yes,I do it frequently. I use basting spray and quilt every 3 inches....works fine

I also use fleece instead of batting for cosmetic bags that I make for a charity. I also use the basting spray & quilt...but it's a much smaller area than a quilt. No problems!

I have done it, but the fleece starts looking bedraggled pretty quickly.

I do it often. I pin baste and usually FMQ.

Sometimes I simply use the fleece backing folded to the front as the binding because fleece does not unravel. Sometimes I make a traditional binding. I have no issues with it. My very favorite quilts for personal use have old minky throws as the batting/backing. They are so cozy!! I didn't even quilt those, I finished them birthing style.

I can't attest to the longevity of the ones I give away but in general it makes a physically lighter quilt. I really like using fleece and plan to continue it.

Since the fleece will not degrade and bunch up like batting, you can quilt as much or as little as you want. I find that appealing. The 2 quilts which I use all the time were not quilted at all in fact. I just birthed them and top stitched the edges.

Also since you are only sewing 2 layers, not three, a walking foot is not needed. I don't own one, so using fleece allows me to do some straight line quilting.

This has become my preferred method. Everyone who has received one has commented on how soft and cuddly they are. I do minimal quilting. The first couple I did were panels and I didn't do any quilting and they needed ironed after washing so now I do some quilting - either stitch in the ditch or squiggly lines.

I like the fleece on the back, but the quilts are a little too floppy for me. So I use the 80/20 batting with the fleece.

I started one once. It was a baby size quilt. I finished the quilting about half way. I hated it. I ended up ripping it all apart and starting it over with backing and batting. It is very difficult to quilt with. Make sure you look and watch a lot of tutorials to get the ins and outs.

In my personal opinion, It felt like I cheated my quilt. And, that is just my personal opinion. It sounds like many of you have enjoyed and like quilting with it.

Now, I do enjoy using flannel for backing. And, no, I don't use it all the time. Mostly with baby quilts. And, a lap quilt or 2,3.

Whatever you decide. Good luck and enjoy.

Michele,
I use fleece and fleece blankets on the back of many quilts I make. Just don't over tighten on the rollers if loading on a long arm, and if you want to put batting in, use a light weight poly and not a lot of quilting to keep them soft and snuggly. They are favorites of kids and the chemo center.
Peace, Brenda

I am doing that now on a baby quilt i am making. It feels so soft. I like it very much.

Pat, That is what I am working on now, I have the top done. How are you doing yours birthing it, or with binding? Thank you, Michele

Worked fine for me .... take a look at how I did it ....

https://www.quiltingboard.com/pictur...g-t239508.html

I made a tee shirt quilt a few years back and used fleece backing, didn't have any problems with it, hopefully I'll have the same with this next tee shirt quilt for a neighbor.

I have used it for backing, easy and cozy!

My Aunt made a baby quilt for each of our children in the 70’s and I loved them. A top with flannel backing, no batting. I’ve always put batting in baby quilts but lately I’ve been thinking for next baby quilt, I should substitute a layer of flannel for the batting.

I'm just learning to FMQ, and recently tried using fleece as a batting/backing. Previously I had only used W&N, so the fleece was waaay to floppy for me to control in comparison, and I did not enjoy the process at all.

That being said, I did really like the drape once it was finished...It had the feel of a quilt that has been well loved and softened with age. And, of course, fleece feels so nice to the touch.

Overall, I think once I have more experience with FMQ, I will probably use fleece again.

As a side note on using fleece, some of it is much more stretchy than others so if what you have is stretchy then glue basting is best.

I love it for throws, baby quilts. Soft, snuggly and stays on your lap. Not sure I would like it for a whole bed quilt as I would want more "body" to the quilt.

Yes, I've done it several times. Sometimes I use batting as well. To be honest, I like the look of the quilt with top/batting/fleece better than just top/fleece. but that is a personal preference, and either way looks good.

I love to use flannel as backing as well. It's softer and feels warmer, plus it doesn't seem to"slip" off the bed or user as easily as a cotton backing does.

For those of you who have tried fleece , can you recommend a good quality brand that is tried and true?

Thank you!

I have done it on a few quilts. I always buy the no pill fleece. I find it stays nice looking longer.

It seems that JoAnns always has fleece at 1/2 price. I wonder about the quality.

I hate working with fleece because it 'moves' so much. When I don't want to use batting (either want a lighter quilt, doing a quick throw or unexpectantly ran out), I will use flannel either as batting, as backing or double layers for both. I love working with flannel.

I use the fleece from walmart. Pill resistant is my preference. Hobby Lobby has fleece as well, but is priced higher, but is a good deal if you can get it on sale.

I do it all the time with bamboo batting. I made one without batting, just top and fleece, but my kids prefer to have all three layers. Too hot for me. As far as how the quilt holds up, seems to be just fine. I spray baste and quilt on my DSM with a walking foot. I've bought all of my fleece at JoAnns when it is on sale. I hesitantly pieced some fleece for a bigger quilt and it did fine, too. I didn't have any trouble with "slippage" using the spray baste. I bind the quilts the normal way, generally using left over cotton from the quilt top for the binding.

I missed this thread when it went around last month, but since I just recently made two quilts like this, I thought I'd post some pictures so people who haven't tried it can decide whether they like the way it looks. The first 2 pictures are the front and back of a couch throw for our living room, made because I wanted to experiment with the fleece. Winter days are usually warmer here in the Dallas area, so a lighter weight quilt is good for daytime use. This is a no-pill fleece from Joann's, and it doesn't have a lot of stretch. I used basting spray and did most of the quilting with a single run machine embroidery design, using no stabilizer. I did walking foot wavy lines in the outer border because that's easier than trying to hoop in that area. The front is a panel that includes the black border, where I used decorative stitches from the machine. Then I wanted to define the "patches" so straight-lined stitched around them, which kind of messes up the design on the back, but it's not worrying me much. I did a normal binding with quilting cotton.

The second project I did using fleece for the back was for a friend in warm climate who was diagnosed with breast cancer recently. I'm showing the only picture I have of the back to illustrate that if you use fleece with a busy pattern, the quilting will not show up as much. Finally, there's a bit of the front showing the embroidery machine quilting and the machine decorative stitch I used in the borders. In all the pictures, these have been machine washed and dried one time. I didn't measure, but I assume there's somewhat less shrinkage than with my usual Warm and Natural, but still enough to give the front a "quilty" look. Using fleece seems okay to me for lightweight quilts that are meant to be used. I restrict the size to the width of the fleece, though others have said piecing it does not cause problems.

This was what I was wondering. Is the cotton batting too heavy?