Fleece is durable enough to wash over and over, which makes it perfect for a baby or child’s quilt. Update: I am happy to report that the quality of what’s available there is much better than it was a few years ago. A busy backing hides less-than-perfect quilting stitches on the back of the quilt. You can use whatever color fleece you like! Adjust the pressure as you normally would. Revised and updated April 25, 2017. 100 weight micro fleece is extremely stretchy, so much so that it is hard to avoid wrinkling when you quilt with it, and 300 weight fleece is quite thick and bulky. 1. Keep moving the back and top around on the table to get all of it spray basted with no wrinkles. Step 2 Cut a piece of batting the same size as the blanket. Back Your Quilts with Polar Fleece: Durable, Light, Warm, Washable. 3. Can you back a quilt with polyester fleece instead of the usual batting and cotton backing layers? Baste with your favorite method. This simple patchwork design with squares can be quilted in the ditch against a soft, black fleece backing. Fold a piece of lightweight cardboard or heavyweight fabric like denim or twill until it is as thick as the layers of fabric in your quilt. Because most fleece fabric is made from polyester, it is (1) warm, even when wet, (2) water-resistant, (3) doesn’t fray at the edges when cut, (4) doesn’t shrink when washed, and (5) comes in a huge variety of different finishes, colors and prints. Use a universal, ballpoint or stretch needle. If the front is a quilt and already pieced, cut the back fabric to fit. Stitch in the ditch to secure the quilt layers together, working from the center out. Latest guidelines from pediatric groups is NEVER use fleece blankets for babies or toddlers. Fleece also comes in wider widths than the standard quilter’s cotton most often used for backings, so it’s often possible to back your quilt without having to piece the fleece backing to make it wider. Next Find the middle two vertical columns. Sometimes my sewing machine struggles to sew through it. Fleece is naturally stretchy and if I didn’t stabilize it with French Fuse, it would stretch way out of control during basting. I like to use 200 weight fleece for my quilts. I normally wouldn’t quilt to the edge using this method and instead quilt 1” away from the edge or so…but it was an afterthought with this little quilt. Aug 22, 2018 - Make your quilt backings from polyester fleece and you'll get a light, warm, washable, durable quilt that doesn't need a backing layer of cotton fabric. The Geometric quilt with green fleece back uses a zigzag stitch along the binding to hold it in place. (You can also avoid having to piece your backing fabric by choosing the increasingly-popular 108″-wide quilter’s cotton fabrics designed for backings, though.) If you want to amp up your free-motion quilting, you can try the Bluprint class Design It, Quilt It: Free-Form Techniques with Cindy Needham. Arm your sewing machine with a new, 80/12 or even 90/14 machine needle if you have one. According to Quiltbug, fleece fabrics curl to the wrong side when stretched on the crosswise grain. How to Line a Blanket with Fleece. This project, titled Happy 81st Birthday Grandma, is made from large squares of fleece which are simply quilted with a large “X” pattern. If you’re the kind of quilter who hates to throw away scraps, you can piece together smaller pieces of fleece to make them large enough to use for your backing. Dec 4, 2019 - Make your quilt backings from polyester fleece and you'll get a light, warm, washable, durable quilt that doesn't need a backing layer of cotton fabric. 2. Lots of softer alternatives like minky quilting and fleece quilt backing can take your quilt and make it extra cozy for the chilly months. Choose your favorite school colors and cheer on your favorite team with this modern, two-color quilt design. Thrifty! I have done a couple crib size quilts using fleece for the backing--no batting and pieced flannel blocks for the top. Use a piece of tape to mark the side you want to have showing. I decided that I did not want to use a regular quilting cotton for the binding on an all-fleece quilt. Choose a quilt backing with an interesting motif and then quilt from the back along the fabric's printed lines, to transfer the design to the front. The beauty of fleece is that it doesn’t fray so you don’t have to finish it off. Learn new craft techniques and tips from the experts. Blog reader Betty C pointed out that the colors on the backing fleece can ghost through the fabric on the quilt top. Start to look worn after a few months it generally doesn ’ t bleach or use fabric softener dryer. ( 2-inch diameter ) when cutting fleece, 80/12 or 90/14 for medium,... 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