I have not tried it yet....my mother always used sheets for backing. The first quilt she made for me was a sheet with big flowers and stems and she hand quilted the whole thing with a sheet on the back. She spent a long time on it. It is very precious to me and it is on a quilt rack in the bedroom. She also made hand made pieced quilts with sheet as backing...she always did it all by hand (no machine)...

good to know!

I have used sheets...they r great!..

It's your quilt, it's up to you. Most quilts have batting of some kind between the top and back, but there are "summer quilts" that usually are just a top and backing. They are lightweight and don't have the puffy look of quilts made with batting. The summer qilts are nice for warm climates.

I used a quilted top for a bedspread and didn't put any batting in it, but even for a lightweight quilt, I like at least a flannel sheet as lining.

I am making a twin size quilt for my grandson. He really, really, likes "Thomas & His Friends", so I bought that fabric. I am working on the back, but I wasn't sure if I could put the back onto the front and quilt it together. I am very, very new into quilting. This will be my first one when I get it done. I am not sure if I can find "Thomas & His Friends" theme on flannel.
Thanks for all your help

What did the women use back in the 1800s? I know my grandmother made a lot of quilts, but she is gone now and I am finally getting interested in making quilts, so I can't ask her.

My grandmother used flour and feed sacks for backings back then. They were not one solid piece of fabric but were 4 to 6 sections sewn together, depending on the size of the quilt.

I have made a summer quilt with just a flannel sheet as backing and no batting. Seemed to work fine and just enough to keep me warm.

A quilt made with a top and a backing would be what we used to call a summer quilt, not necessarily for warmth but just something to cover ourselves. Nothing wrong with that if you live where it is very warm and don't need extra padding as we in the northern states prefer. But it won't be accepted in a quilt show I would suspect, as a bonafide quilt. This would be a nice way to show off a pieced quilt top and use it as a spread.
Carol J.