I have had some advice from you but I just cannot have any success using fleece for the backing on a quilt when I machine it, it just stretches so much and goes out of shape.. I am sorry i cannot get the photos to load on to my laptop so cannot send one.. I normally hand sew everything but want to tackle and succed with the machine sometimes. Thank you in advance... I have tried spraying it with 505 and without. My tension is okay. I have used both a walking foot and a plain one.

I used fleece once....I agree....stretches and it was horrible to sew. I now use flannel.

Thats a good idea,, I need the extra warmth as it is for my disabled daughter to cuddle up in.

Fleece is usually more expensive and is a poly mix and harder to work with. I don't use it in quilting, though some people do. I tend to KISS(keep it simple stupid) and work with all cottons.

I've sewn on both fleece and flannel before and would have to agree that flannel would be easier to work with. And flannel is usually pretty warm.

I used white minky on my grandson's 1st quilt and it did great. He loves the soft cuddle. Used up the scraps on baby toy gifts.

What is minky? Is it some sort of fleece or a combo of fleece and flannel?

Fleece is terrible to machine sew and don't ever, EVER try to free-motion sew it :evil: The best way with fleece is either to hand tie, or machine tie by sewing a small group of stitches haphazardly. My machine will do a small motif and lock the stitch at the start n end, can you do something like that?

I have fleece pinned to a top right now and I didn't do anything with it as it just didn't lay right. Just as you said it seemd to be stretching before I even got to the sewing. I think I'll take it off and start over for the backing. I'm glad to posted this as you have saved me from trying it.

quote=loopywren]I have had some advice from you but I just cannot have any success using fleece for the backing on a quilt when I machine it, it just stretches so much and goes out of shape.. I am sorry i cannot get the photos to load on to my laptop so cannot send one.. I normally hand sew everything but want to tackle and succed with the machine sometimes. Thank you in advance... I have tried spraying it with 505 and without. My tension is okay. I have used both a walking foot and a plain one.[/quote]

I think the only time you can successfully use fleece on the back of cotton is if you tie it with yarn or floss. If you really wanted to quilt it, then flannel would be the better choice. You could add an extra layer of flannel for warmth if you thought you needed it.

I think I will hand tie this one, good idea, but I will get some flannel and try that for another one. I don't think minky is available over here. Thank you all.

So glad I jutst read this, I was just heading to town tomorrow morning to try a large quilt with fleece, to free motion (funny, you try something on a small piece and it seems like it might work but on an actual quilt it is pure h***!

If you ever really want to use fleece or minky it CAN be done on a longarm. I've done it several times and love the way it looks, especially free motion. Flannel works well too, and I imagine would be fine on a domestic machine.

I use it often. Sometimes I tie but will also do machine quilting. Baste it well and it should do fine.

I was thinking of using fleece as batting (a recent post gave me the idea)
Should I tie it then?? I don't MQ very well yet.

I learned my lesson with trying to sew with fleece as the backing. It was so frustrating!! Was soo glad to be done with it! I would go with flannel over the fleece

I made a sat blanket withe squars of fleese scraps on both sides like a rag quilt and when i was done, I did not cut the seams because it was too thick. turn it on the non-seam side for the two cats and they love it. i would not use for backing on quilt, flannel is a better choice.
sorry you have to start over.

I was asked to quilt a fleece backed quilt and asked permission to turn it over and quilt on the fleece side up so the "top" beccame the back. It worked fine on my longarm.

Maybe I'm missing the obvious because I have very little experience with machine quilting, which I'm trying to learn right now, but your mention of using the walking foot makes me think you may not have tried free motion on it with the feed dogs lowered or covered. I have the intention to create a little project with calico on the pieced side and fleece on the back, and I will soon find out what's what, I have a feeling! If that doesn't work well, maybe it would be possible to quilt it with some paper or other tear-away product under it? Alternatively, could it be worked with the fleece side facing up? (It would be impossible to follow the patchwork, of course, though you could probably mark the corners of squares with pins or wash-away marker.) If it was not sidetracking from my present project, I'd run over to the machine to test a bit right now. Good luck!

Great minds think alike. We posted the same idea almost simultaneously. I didn't see yours because it took me more than 2 minutes to type. It's good to know it can be done. For me it was just a hunch.

I used fleece in my last walllhanging and quilted it like normal. I did butterflies, using images from the net transferred onto parchment paper. Quilted just fine. Operator errors on the booboos and not the fleece.

Minky is wonderful! I've used it in a couple of quilts and it machine quilts nicely with a walking foot and the tension adjusted. I've even hand appliqued to it, which is a bit more of a challenge. HOWEVER, get ready for lots of shedding of the fabric. You need to clean out your machine periodically while using it!

I have used fleece as a backing and spray basted and it was fine.

I only did straight line quilting, though, and I used a walking foot. I didn't have any problems this way. Also, fleece is stretchier one way . So, I used the less stretchy top to bottom with the greater stretch going across since the majority of my quilting lines were vertical.

I have used fleece as a batting and them FMQ with no problem. Or you can straight line quilt. I use spray basting and didn't have any issues.

I've used the polar fleece many times on the backs of baby quilts as I like the super softness of it. Granted I quilt on my Pfaff 1473 (almost 20 yrs old)and do straight line quilting but I haven't had troubles with it. I do pin it down pretty close with the jumbo safety pins. Found you have to start pinning in the middle and work your way out...then trim it ups to make it square (well kinda square for me)

On the quilt to the left, it has a "rainbow leopard" fleece (sorry forgot to take picture of it before giving it to DGD.

I've also tied when I used fleece using yarn to match up the colors...don't like the "lumps" from the knots though.

I'm not a great sewer/quilter so if I managed then someone else with better skills shouldn't have too much trouble.

Good luck

I just completed 4 lap quilts with cotton on the front and fleece as a backing. I didn't put batting in it. These were for my quilt ministry quilt and were going to children in hospitals. I pinbasted all 4 quilts first and then began machine quilting. I free motion quilted the first one and it didn't give me any problem whatsoever. My problem is that I like the texture of a cotton on cotton quilt with batting and the quilt I finished was squishy and soft and fluffy. So after I finished quilting the first one, I told my daughter that I was taking apart the other 3 and putting cotton as a backing. My daughter very wisely told me that just because I didn't like the squishy feel didn't mean a little child wouldn't like it. I decided to take her advice and the quilts turned out really cute.

I use fleece all the time - but I use my serger and you have to get a piece that is a least 2 inches bigger on each side to take care of the movement.

I love using it especially for people who want it for an outdoor use (soccer or football games) makes it easy to wrap around them.

Oh and like AnnieF - when I use Fleece I don't use batting!

If you are going to use polar fleece as a backing, you have to wash it in really warm (close to hot) water and then dry it in the dryer. Buy really good polar fleece, then put extra seams in your project. Good luck.

If you are going to use polar fleece as a backing, you have to wash it in really warm (close to hot) water and then dry it in the dryer. Buy really good polar fleece, then put extra seams in your project. Good luck.

I have made one quilt with fleece for backing. I personally don't like the texture, but I just did a large diamond pattern (stitch in the ditch). It turned out very nice. This was done on a standard short arm machine.

I am using a not very expensive domestic machine and perhaps that is part of the problem. I have tried every way of sewing, it did work on a small piece but not on this largish lap quilt. No batting either.

I used fleece as a backing for my last one, and didn't have any problems. I didn't use batting though, that might have made a difference. I've used fleece as batting, too, without trouble...

I've never used fleece as a backing on a quilt but flannel works great. I made a king size quilt for my daughter and used flannel as backing and she says it is so warm and snuggly. I have a lap quilt on my recliner that is backed with flannel and love it.

I love to take 2 layers of fleece and put them together - sew around the edges or cut strips along the edges and tie them - makes a wonderful warm snuggly throw and it is quick.Washes and dries really nicely too.

I have used fleece many times on the back of a quilt, but I do have a long arm and that works really well when quilting them.

I use crochet thread and tack it , or 6strand of embordiery thread. Nimble Thimble USA

Agreed! Free motion quilting is out of the question UNLESS - as you can easily do for straight row stitching - place tissue paper between the fleece & whichever foot it is facing. Addition pulling & stretching happens while handling the material - or due to too much/little machine pressure - or pushing/pulling under the foot while stitching.
The tissue works famously! Made a dozen fleece blankets for our DAR chapter for a statewide project. A Maine retired Army nurse goes to the evac hospital in Iraq - one month a year. She gives the blankets to the soldiers for the trip to Germany. ( The planes can get pretty darned cold in-flight! )
Some of us make the blankets throughout the year - & stockpile them for her next trip over. Unlike 'Soldiers' Angels' whom have to pay for shipping there - this woman has finagled the military to ship them with her! Anyone interested in making/donating blankets - please PM me. If your local DAR doesn't have a similar program - I'll try to help get the ball rolling.

Minky is a super soft fabric used primarily for baby blankets. Here is a tutorial link that will be helpful for using fleece too, since it is similar. I "winged" it with no instructions when I used it, and had no problems, but I did pin, pin, pin to keep it from sliding.
http://icraftblog.blogspot.com/2009/...anket-tutorial

I am machine quilting a twin size quilt with fleece backing right now for my grandson. Using my walking foot, feed dog down,and spray basted the fleece, no batting. Using an "S" type pattern to quilt, not having any problems.

I used fleece backing on all my t shirt quilts. I put right sides together and sewed three sides turned inside out. I know not the proper way. then then after turning inside out tucked the ends in on the fourth side pinned and machine stiched all around. It was not perfect but seemed to go a little easier for me.

Hi,
I haven't tried this but it works for other things! I would try soluble Vilene bought by the metre, have that on the bottom then the fleece and work from the top of the whole sandwich. I keep thinking I shall try this after seeing a beautiful lap quilt, fleece backed, made by a Bernina demonstrator for her mother. It had been well used but still looked fine. She had chosen a wonderful purple colour for the fleece and in memory had cotton quilting fabric on top.