Saturday, April 2, 2011

Quilt #1: Batting & Backing

    Once I decided on the fabric for the borders, I needed to figure out what to use for batting, backing and binding.  Hmmm. Maybe I should back-up and explain.

    A quilt is much like a sandwich. It's made of up three layers: the top, the batting, and the backing. The binding goes around the edges to finish and hold it all together.

    The top can be lots of different things. For my first quilt, Ashley's Journey, I pieced the top using 20 different fabrics according to a pattern. You could also use a single piece of plain fabric, or a piece that had been cross stitched, embroidered, painted ... or really decorated in any of a myriad of ways. Most quilts made by novice quilters (aka--me) are pieced from various fabrics using a pattern. I'm sure I'll discover ways to make a quilt top that I never even dreamed of as I continue on this journey.

    Batting is the fluffy stuff that goes in the middle of a quilt and makes it puffy. It can be made of cotton, wool, synthetic fiber or a blend of any of these materials. I've heard of folks using flannel as a batting, or even an old worn-out or out-dated blanket. Again, I'm just beginning my Quilter's Journey. So, I'm sure there are batting materials available that haven't crossed my mind.

    The backing is the material that goes on the bottom. It can be a print fabric that coordinates with the top of your quilt, or it can be a solid color. It can be purchased from a bolt that is wide enough to cover the entire back of your quilt without piecing. Or, it can be pieced, usually with just one or two seams, so that it's big enough to cover the back of your quilt.

    I decided on a solid yellow fabric to back my first quilt. I found a bolt at the fabric store that measured 108 inches wide. That would be wide enough that I wouldn't have to piece the back. I think I'm going to use the same solid yellow to do the binding, as well. Bev picked up this batting for me from a local quilt shop.

    Here are a couple of pictures of my first quilt. The first photo shows a close-up of some of the 1930's reproduction fabrics I used. The second is of the top (minus borders) put together and laid out on a twin size bed in our grandkids' room.

    I entered this post in the Fabric Tuesday linky party at Quiltstory. All of this is very new to me! = )



3 comments:

Sew Many Mamas said...

Beautiful!!! Good job! Love your pattern and your fabric choice!

Riel Nason said...

Congratulations on the quilt! I've been quilting for a little over a year and take my word for it, it's fun!!!

Caroline@ToffleCraft said...

Congratulations on completing your first quilt! I'm working on my 1st one still at the moment and have been practicing with other projects...