jitkaau

I generally just buy wide backing material which is half the price of the quilting material. That way I can get a variety of colours and the back looks as nicely as the front does. However, I know many who use old curtains, upholstery material and sheets. They say that those fabrics often give weight to the quilt and they hang well.

hobbykat1955

I have picked up antique quality sheets and love using them...I machine quilt I probably would not hand quilt thru them since they are a good weave...My backs come out perfect, love using them and I dye them to match the quilt...So it's really fun when you can dye to your own color scheme...I tie dye...

tenngal

Our church quilting group uses sheets all the time - as I have for many years for my own use. And, there are no silly questions. I have learned so much from this board, even though I thought I knew most of the answers before I joined!

Tdejournett

I use sheets all the time for the backs of my quilts. I usually find color sheets on sale and buy them to have on hand. I do longarm quilting, so no problems with hand quilting, but I have never had a problem using them on the frame and in the quilts. I think they work out quite nicely. Saves money so I can buy more fabric to make more tops.

barri1

I use sheets all the time. We have a thrift store that runs 1/2 off days, and I have gotten brand new high quality sheets there.. I bought two sets for $5 each. they were donated from Kohls. I especially like using flannel. I did run into a problem with the dye running, and had to wash them a bunch to get the dye to stop running

wanda lou

Sure, I have been known to use a sheet or two.

Coco47

Having a longarm quilter reply is helpful because they are the ones who normally have to work with the backing material. Thank you for letting us know.

just janet

I used a cotton bed sheet once when I first started quilting. It was VERY difficult doing hand quilting and would never use one again.

margecam52

I sometimes use sheets as backing fabric & also have a couple customers who do this. I tell them to buy the cheapest, lowest thread count sheets they can find...then wash several times and dry without fabric softner. Some will wrinkle, and I tell the customer not to worry about ironing them. I do ask them to remove the hems if they can (they can be hard to remove), one does, the other three ladies don't (I charge them extra to do it for them). Once that's done...I check the sheets for square (99.9% are not square). If they aren't square...and I have enough extra, I tear all 4 sides to make sure they are not off square. If I don't have at least 10" extra...I load the backing onto both rollers. Roll onto the takeup bar, while spritzing with water (just a misting). I don't worry too much about getting perfect, just make sure there are no large wrinkles. Next, I roll back onto the belly bar...and if I see a large/deep wrinkle...I mist that, otherwise I don't mist again. On this roll, I make sure to keep the backing fairly taught and as even as possible across the open area (if one area sags, I push on the tight side, and roll...I do this every couple of turns of the backing....by the time I get the entire backing rolled onto the belly bar...if there is a loose side...that's where I unpin and repin to tighten the loose side. It is extra work, but not really any different than when I do fabric backings. Misting and rolling onto the takeup bar first will "iron" the fabric backing, even if it's not a sheet. When I am ready to put my batting in place...my backings are wrinkle free and ready to go.

If you don't have a longarm, you can mist when you lay out the backing (sheet or regular)...tape to a floor, and then using a couple of straight boards (or yard sticks), lay one across the top edge, and one down one side of the top, making sure the boards are layed out straight...mark with a pencil (this will be inside the quilt or cut off if you have room to cut or tear to even the sheet), and use these lines to lay out the batting & top of the quilt.

Sheets are no different than using a batik backing or having batiks in the quilt.

BettyGee

I've never used a sheet, but I have a whole box of them because I have read about using them as backing. There is just something about using a plain backing on the quilt I worked so hard to make beautiful, that is all in my head I'm sure. I don't see why it wouldn't work and if a longarm quilter agrees I would consider that an endorsement.