a good flannel for quilt backing?
 

I'm making a quilt for son & future DIL and trying to decide what backing to use. I'm considering flannel but don't want one that is flimsy and will pill upon use/washing. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Marcia

Good idea! I sometimes use a flannel to back my quilts so they don't slide off the bed as we toss & turn. A good quilt shop quality flannel should work great! Some like Connecting Threads flannels here. I have never tried theirs though. I go to my local quilt shop.

Loads of wonderful flannels out there. Some name brands that I have never been disappointed with are Moda flannel, Wilmington (the regular not the wide, I found their wide back to be on the thin side), Maywood, Marcus Brothers and Northcott. They are all super soft, nice and thick and I have had no pilling.

The wide back flannels that Sew Batik carries are also very nice but expensive:
http://www.sewbatik.com/SearchResult...CategoryID=168

I have bought flannel from Moda that was wonderful and even had great success at JoAnns .

I use flannel for almost all of my bed quilts and children's quilts. I choose flannel that feels right and compliments the front. Next I wash it - while I am not a prewasher of regular quilting fabric - I have found that quality and price of the flannel does not correspond with shrinkage and that the shrinkage of flannel varies greatly bolt by bolt. Actually the piece I purchased that was Moda shrank the most of any piece of flannel I have ever purchased. But it was soft and beautiful even after washing and a perfect backing for the quilt.

I've been happy with all the brands Feline Fanatic mentions. I was also very happy with Connecting Threads. As mentioned, be sure and launder before using. Hit and miss with JoAnns, which I now avoid. Flannel tends to shrink more than quilting cotton. I usually wash & dry it twice. When it shrinks, it gets softer & thicker so there is an upside!

i've used flannel from the quilt store. The flannels are so much more scrumptious than JoAnn's! I also agree w/ the wide flannels. I was disappointed in the quality.

Thank you for the suggestions. I appreciate your help.
Marcia

Fabric.com has some wonderful 108-110" wide flannels. I use them often for quilt backs

I use flannel on almost all of my backings and have purchased from Connecting Threads and Thousands of Bolts. I also have flannel from my LQS. (I buy it on sale if I can.) I have never had a problem with it pilling up even after many washes.

I usually use a flannel sheet from LL Bean - I figure they will hold up. I have bought wide flannel made for backing but the flannel sheet is softer.