I've got six tops waiting to be quilted (seven if you count that wall-hanging in the sewing room that probably should be quilted one of these days) and at least three more projects that will be tops soon. None of them (except the wallhanging) is more than five months old.
No wonder I'm trying to think of cheap ways to finish my quilts! It's not that I can't afford to buy decent backing and batting, but even with coupons and sales it would cost a small fortune to finish the tops I've got done now. And then the tops I'll have done six months from now.
So I'm prioritizing. I'll buy great backing and batting for the quilts I truly love. Some of these tops (like Layered Squares) may never get quilted for all I care. I spent a few evenings playing with scraps, I wasn't thrilled with the results, so why should I feel guilty for not investing more time and money?
But I could definitely use more utility quilts around the house, so I'm looking for cost-cutting ideas. So far the best I've been able to come up with are recycled sheets as backing or flannel instead of batting.
Any other ideas?
Hi Michelle
ReplyDeleteIf you have a lot of scraps and/or fabrics you dont necessarily love for quilt tops, make pieced backings from those.
Have fun!
How about backing with fleece - no batting
ReplyDeleteI like to use up stash like Bonnie does and piece the backing from scraps from the top and other older pieces from the stash.
ReplyDeleteYou could just use an old flannel sheet for a batting if you want a lightweight quilt that is easy to hand quilt. I wait for batting sales and then buy a lot of it to use throughout the year.