I have a baby quilt top, Around the World Pattern. It measures 45x45 inches. I have 2yds of flannel that I want to use for backing. After washing and drying, it is now 42 inches wide, before savalges are removed and 69 inches long. What would be the best way to put the backing together or would you just use a different backing. I want it to look nice as I am giving it as a shower gift. Thank you so much.

Do you have extra pieces of the front fabric? In the version of Around the world that I use, I usually have spare fabric. Could you run a "stripe" of squares somewhere on the back joining two pieces of flannel? If this doesn't make sense in words, let me know and I will draw a picture.

wash it again to make sure it's finished shrinking. add even strips to the two ends to make up the difference and do some nice crazy quilt embroidery over the seam for a nice 'finishing touch'.

Have you fabric leftovers from the top?
May be you could make a 5,5 inch strip of blocks with those fabric.Then cut them lengthwise,p.e. a 5,5 inch strip .The backing could be: narrow strip backing, strip blocks (or coins etc) and the rest of the backing.
Of course you could cut the backing in 2 pieces of the same width or cut them any size you like.Iwasjust usingthenumbers to make it easier to explain.Hope I made a bit of sence LOL.

No one is going to notice if the back is pieced once it's quilted, but I have seen some of the blocks from the front added to the backing to make it wider. Sew a strip of blocks about 6 1/2" square together until they are 48" long. Trim the selvages from the flannel, cut it 48" long and split it in half vertically. Put your blocks in the center and now your back will be 48 by 48, which is big enough to work with. Or run smaller blocks down each side of the backing.

Thank you all for the ideas. I know you can tell I'm fairly new at this. I do have extra fabric from the top.I will go play around with it and see what I can come up with. It is so nice to be able to ask questions and get answers so quickly.

If you don't want to add extra blocks to the back you can cut it off at 50 inches. That should leave a 19 x 42" piece. Cut this piece in half so it is 2 pieces 8 x 42". Cut off 8" of one of those 2 pieces & sew it onto the other one. Now you should have a 42 X 50" piece and a 8 x 50" piece. Sew those 2 together and you'll have a backing just shy of 50 x 50 which is plenty extra to hand quilt, tie, or quilt at the machine. If you're going to put it on a machine quilting frame; you'll want it a little bigger but you can baste scraps around the edges if you want.

Piecing backings is my least favorite part of quilting so I avoid it whenever I can by using the extra wide fabric or cotton sheets but I'm also a tightwad so I force myself to use my stash when I don't have my "cheater" backings readily available.

I have to draw myself a little diagram & double check my math but it does make me feel good to use my stash. I recently depleted my supply of pink flannels & calico so a shopping spree will be needed if any more baby girls appear in the family! I'm sure other colors will somehow end up in my shopping cart, though--LOL.

http://www.alwaysquilting.com.au/the-art-back.htm

This is a link showing how to make a back when your fabric is not wide enough. I did this on a quilt this Christmas and loved how it turned out. My quilts before were always baby quilts less than 44 inches. This opens up a whole new world to me!! Maybe you will find it helpful too.

If you cut the piece of flannel on the diagonal, you can slide one piece down until you have a square big enough on all sides. Sew that bias seam and press it, trim off the two overhanging triangles and you have a nice back with one diagonal seam.

That didn't sound very clear, so I drew a little picture.