Sunday, April 21, 2013

Quilt back

This weekend I completed the backing for my disappearing 9 patch quilt. The last few quilts I have made, deciding on the backing has been a challenge. Partially because I'd rather not buy more fabric for the back. Additional yardage of Sea Garden Summer from the Salt Air collection would have made a great quilt back but instead I chose to dig into my stash. 

I thought this quilt needed a pop of color. The muted tones of the quilt top did not lend itself to pairing with other patterned fabric I had in my stash. Some pieces were complimentary but I did not have enough to make an entire quilt back. So got my stash of Kona yardage and played around with the idea of making an improv style backing. However the front was too structured and the back just looked shabby in comparison. 

Finally cut up large square blocks from the fabric and pieced them together. The backing now has more structure and color and provides the punch that the quilt needed.




I wonder if everyone else buys additional yardage for quilt backs? I have done it in the past when I followed a pattern. I guess if you were making a commission quilt you might need to.

While I was at it I thought of basting the quilt too. But soon realized I have two quilts that are laying around basted and un-quilted so don't have enough pins to baste this one. Hmm...now that's motivation enough to finish the UFOs or just go out and buy more pins ;)


Linking up to: Handmade Harbour & Plum & June

12 comments:

  1. Hahah I completely agree with the pins comment :D I like the colors you put together for the back!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the colours of the squares, so bright and cheerful.

    Jan x

    ReplyDelete
  3. really pretty! I like those big solid squares!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I like the back. I have never "pieced" a back. I am slightly color obsessed and it is very difficult for me to not have a color or even collection coordinating back. I love minky dot backing, and while it can be expensive, I love it for baby quilts. For larger quilts, I have been purchasing a coordinating Kona Solid. But then again, I don't have a huge stash of fabrics, I tend to buy for specific projects and don't have large pieces of leftover fabric.

    ReplyDelete
  5. New pins! You quite literally can never have enough pins!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I really like the back - it is good enough to show as the front!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love a pieced back! The bright colours are fab!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your quilt looks awesome. Great job on the pieced back. I have mostly bought yardage, but I stock up whenever I see amazing sales of $3 or so a yard. I figure it's worth it. I like a pieced back though, so that is always an option.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your quilt looks gorgeous. I have the same pin problem too! Stopping by from Plum and June.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This quilt is coming on beautifully. I like what you've done for the back, a clever use of fabric.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting!