I've been known to dabble in funky choices for quilt backs from time to time. And when I say funky, I mean strange garment department fabric that oddly works out really well. I found yet another one to try, and I’m pretty happy with how it came out!
I had three quilts to back and quilt this week, so I decided to try terrycloth (as in beach towel fabric) on one of them! Here you can see the backings for all three quilts. The blue one is terrycloth, the gray one is sweatshirt fleece, and the light blue/gray one is waffle knit.
Terrycloth has a knap on both sides making it a little on the thicker side. I used a lightweight batting because it wasn’t quite thick enough without it.
Once it was quilted, I could tell it was pretty heavy even as a lap quilt, so maybe next time I would use a layer of flannel in place of batting… but it is so cozy feeling!
Terrycloth is also 100% cotton so if you like natural fibers this might be a good option.
For the next quilt, I used the sweatshirt fleece backing. Sweatshirt fleece has a fuzzy underside, so I decided to forgo the batting on this one. This sweatshirt fleece is also a cotton-poly blend, so it doesn't breathe as well as 100% cotton making it a bit warmer.
It quilted up beautifully making for a very lightweight (and thin) summer lap quilt with plenty of “scrunch and drape”. Those are technical terms for feels good to cuddle up in ;). Oh and one more perk, sweatshirt fleece comes about 54” wide, so you can do a nice lap quilt without piecing the backing.
Last but not least is the waffle knit! I've used this on a quilt in the past and I have to say, this might be my new favorite backing. I LOVE the way this lightweight knit makes the quilts feel. Waffle knit is about the same weight as jersey knit but with a little more body.
I used batting in this quilt and it is just about perfect in weight, drape, and scrunch. Waffle knit can also be found in 100% cotton and comes about 56”-58” wide so that is another plus!
Well, there you go! A few new ideas for quilt backs. I typically find these among the garment fabrics in the big box fabric stores.
Happy Sunday everyone,
Krista