BACKWARDS. A little bit of fun - and a big savings on fabric cost!

Rose Whispers Wideback as a bedspread.

When I was in grade school, we had fewer professional days and more “unprofessional” days - where we simply had a little bit of fun!  Every year we would have a pajama day where we all got to wear our pajamas to school. 

We also had “Backwards” days where we wore our clothes backwards and tried to do everything backwards. Walking backwards became dangerous and as I recall we did not do much in gym class backwards - but it really opened our eyes to doing things in a different way.

In quilting, I find I do a lot of things backwards.  Unsewing for example.  Yes we all do that once in a while!

But I also visually deconstruct quilts to determine the pattern or to redraft a pattern to make the best used of the width of the fabric - making it a no-waste quilt.

I was inspired recently though, by the wideback fabric I ordered and received that I keep in stock for quilters.  The quality and colour of the wideback was beautiful and I began to wonder why I should only use this fabric for backing.  Why couldn’t a backing be used in or as a quilt front?

I showed one such fabric to my daughter who loved the neutral look and rose pattern of a wideback called “Rose Whispers” designed by Eleanor Burns.  She asked me if I would make a quilted bedspread out of the wideback - which of course was very easy.  Widebacks are 108 inches wide - so I cut a front and back 108 inches long and quilted it with a wool batting and voila - a beautiful king size bedspread! The big surprise was the cost.  Fabric for the front of a king size bedspread was $86.50. (the back would cost the same)

​For a king sized quilt - this was unheard of!

---

Moda Shoreline by Camille Roskelley - in stock wideback

Then I had a friend who wanted a more contemporary quilt - navy and white and I decided to use a wideback I had in stock called Moda Shoreline by Camille Roskelley and I added a simple white background.  The finished quilt was gorgeous. It measured 60” x 72” - a large throw quilt.  AND it was very affordable.  It took 2.15 meters of white muslin and .5 meters of background fabric. The full cost of the front was $32.00

Wideback fabric is 108 - 110 inches wide. It is approximately 2 ½ times the width of standard quilters cotton.  So for each regular 2 ½ inch strip of wideback fabric - you would need 2 ½ strips of regular fabric.  But it gets better!

Let’s consider the cost.  One meter of widebacks at a cost of $32.00 a meter is the equivalent of 2.5 meters of quilting cotton.  Quilters cottons range from $20 - $25 a meter - so 2 ½ meters would cost between $50 - $62.50.  You do the math!  The cost can be $50.00 - $62.50 or $32.00 for the same amount of fabric if it is a wideback!

This is why I order in good quality wideback fabrics.  First, I believe that the back should be as good quality as the front of the quilt.  Secondly, I can use the backing as borders or even as part of the background on the front of the quilt.  But finally, a beautiful wideback can be a feature fabric on the front of the quilt - or could even be the entire front as a quilt/bedspread.
​

​So, my elementary school backwards day served its purpose to make me think differently.  The back can be front facing - and trying it out can be just as much fun!

---