How to Back a Quilt: Pieced vs 108 Inch Wide Backing, with Yardage for Every Size

How to make and attach a quilt backing, step by step

1. Measure the finished top. Measure the quilt top through the center in both directions, after it is pressed. Use the smaller figure if the edges differ.
2. Add the overage. Add 4 in to every side (8 in to each dimension) for quilting at home, or the 4 to 6 in per side your longarm quilter asks for. A 90 x 95 in queen needs a 98 x 103 in backing.
3. Choose pieced or wide backing. Compare the yardage chart below. Wide backing such as ROC-lon 108 in Backing covers most tops up to queen with no seams.
4. Cut the panels and trim selvages. Cut the yardage into equal lengths, then trim both selvages off every panel with a Olfa RTY-3/DX 60mm and a long Creative Grids 12.5x24.5 ruler, because selvages shrink differently and pucker.
5. Sew and press the seams. Sew panels together along the long edges with a 1/2 in seam and press the seams open with a hot iron such as the Oliso TG1600 Pro Plus so they lie flat under quilting.
6. Square the backing and mark centers. Trim the backing to size on a large surface, square the corners, and mark the center of each edge with a pin or a Clover Chaco Liner to line up with the top.
7. Baste or load the layers. Tape the backing wrong side up, smooth batting and top over it, and hold with safety pins or Odif 505. If a longarmer is quilting it, deliver backing, batting and top separately and unbasted.

How big should quilt backing be?

Backing should be larger than the quilt top on all four sides. How much larger depends on who quilts it:

• Home machine quilting: 2 to 4 in per side. Four is safer, because a walking foot pushes layers slightly and larger quilts creep more.
• Hand quilting in a hoop: 3 to 4 in per side.
• Longarm quilting: 4 to 6 in per side, sometimes more. The frame clamps and leaders need fabric to hold, and the machine needs room to travel past the edge. Always ask your quilter, since each service sets its own requirement.

Batting needs the same allowance, a little less than the backing if anything, so the batting never peeks out beyond the backing edge while you quilt. The batting size chart lists which package fits each quilt size.

How much fabric do you need for quilt backing?

For pieced backing, the math uses about 40 in of usable width from 42 in quilting cotton. Add the overage to both dimensions, divide the dimension you are spanning by 40 and round up to get the number of panels, then multiply panels by the other dimension and divide by 36. Try both directions and use whichever is shorter. For wide backing, a single length covers the quilt whenever one backing dimension fits within the usable width of 108 in fabric (about 106 in).

Wide backing wins on yardage from the twin size up, and it removes seams a longarmer has to manage. The exception is the largest beds: once both backing dimensions pass about 106 in, 108 in fabric needs a seam too, and extra-wide 118 to 120 in backing avoids it. Each size has a detailed page with cutting plans, such as queen quilt backing, king quilt backing and throw quilt backing.

What is the best fabric for quilt backing?

• Quilting cotton. The default. It matches the weight and shrinkage of the top, presses well and quilts smoothly. Busy prints hide wandering stitches on the back, which is kind to beginners.
• 108 in wide backing. Usually cotton made specifically for backing. A 3 yard cut of ROC-lon 108 in Backing, preshrunk 100 percent cotton, covers a queen with 4 in per side and room to spare.
• Flannel. Soft and warm for winter and baby quilts. It shrinks more than quilting cotton, so prewash it.
• Minky and other plush knits. Very soft, but stretchy and slippery. Use a walking foot, lots of basting and a stable batting, or leave it to an experienced longarmer.
• Bed sheets. Tempting for their width. A tightly woven, high thread count sheet can be hard to needle and may cause skipped stitches, so a looser percale is the better choice if you try one.

Whatever you choose, avoid a backing that is darker than a light-colored top unless the batting is dark too, because dark fabric can shadow through.

Should quilt backing seams be vertical or horizontal?

For quilting at home, choose the layout that uses less fabric; the seam direction does not affect the quilt. For the queen, horizontal seams use 8 1/4 yards and vertical seams 8 5/8, so horizontal wins.

For longarm quilting, many quilters prefer seams that run horizontally, parallel to the frame rollers, because the fabric rolls onto the rails more evenly without a thick ridge building up on one side. Ask your quilter which way they want the seams before you cut.

Two finishing details make any seam behave better. Use a 1/2 in seam rather than 1/4 in, because the backing takes strain on a frame. And press it open, which spreads the bulk so the needle does not deflect over a thick ridge.

How do you baste a quilt sandwich?

Basting holds backing, batting and top together so they cannot shift while you quilt on a home machine. Three common methods:

• Pin basting. Curved safety pins every 4 to 5 in, a hand width apart. Cheap and reusable; remove pins as you reach them.
• Spray basting. A temporary adhesive such as Odif 505, which is odorless, colorless and repositionable, misted lightly on the batting. Fast, with no pins to catch on the foot. Spray in a ventilated room and protect the floor.
• Thread basting. Long running stitches in a grid, the traditional choice for hand quilting.

Baste on a large flat surface at standing height if you can. Crawling on the floor to baste a queen is hard on knees and backs; a big cutting table such as the Kangaroo Kookaburra, which opens to 70 x 40 in, lets you baste half at a time and slide the quilt over. A frame removes basting entirely, which is one reason many quilters eventually add one.

What if your quilt backing is not wide enough?

It happens to everyone. Rather than buying a whole extra length, piece in a strip:

• Add a contrast strip down the middle or off-center, made of leftover fabric from the top. A 6 to 12 in panel often solves the shortfall and looks intentional.
• Use orphan blocks from the front in a row across the back. Many quilters love a pieced back.
• Turn the layout. Check whether running seams the other direction gets enough width from the fabric you already have.
• Reduce the overage to 3 in per side if you quilt at home, but never below what a longarm service requires.

Whatever you add, trim selvages, use a 1/2 in seam, press open, and keep the total at least the overage larger than the top on every side.

Can you use backing fabric as binding?

Yes. This is called self-binding or backing-to-front binding. Trim the batting even with the top, but leave the backing about 1 in larger on every side. Fold the backing edge in to meet the raw edge of the quilt, fold again over the front, and stitch it down, mitering the corners.

It saves cutting and joining strips, and it suits quick baby quilts and throws. The trade-off is durability: the edge is a single folded layer instead of two, so it wears faster on a quilt that is washed often. For heirloom quilts, a separate double-fold binding lasts longer. The full method is in how to bind a quilt.