Quilt in a Day Forums

Would it be a problem to use a (new) sheet for the back of a quilt? Years ago I bought some twin sheets to use as the backs of some scrappy quilts, but still haven't made the quilts, and still haven't used the sheets. I don't remember if the sheets were 100% cotton or a cotton/polyester blend. If I used them, it wouldn't be for a 'heritage' kind of quilt, just for around the house or maybe for charity.

Has anyone had any problems doing this?

I use 100% cotton sheets sometimes with no problems. As long as it's 200 count or lees, your good ) My quilts usually never leave the house unless I drag it off to the beach so a sheet from time to time works perfect for me. I especially love older vintage sheets for the chic design and the softness of it. Amie )

I've used cotton sheets before....especially when doing a king/queen size quilt and wanted a certain color.

Donna, if you need to know what the fabric content is and there's no tag, snip a little piece, like a 2" square, put it in your kitchen sink and set it on fire.

If it's all cotton, the ash will be soft; if it's a blend, the poly fibers melt and harden.

For the sake of your ears, open the windows beforehand and be ready to fan the smoke out so your smoke alarm doesn't go off and deafen you!

I used an old sheet for the backing of our quilt in the motorhome.

Yes you can! I've done many quilts with sheets for backing. Around here you can find them at Goodwill stores for less than a $1 each. I like the older ones better. They just have a better "feel" to them.

I have heard the only reason not to use sheets is if you wanted to hand quilt because the thread count can be a bit heavy to quilt thru. If you plan on machine quiltin or tieing the quilt you would be ok

If you buy a nice cotton sheet the thread count of regular quilting fabric, you may as well by the fabric. If you can find one on sale or at the thrift store then that's a good buy. A regular sheet is very hard to hand quilt or tie. I guess machine quilting it wouldn't matter that much.

I am glad to see someone else ask this question. I had thought it would be fine to use a sheet and know people who do then the lady at the sewing machine store said I should not because it would break needles.

Thank you for sharing your experiences and your opinions. Jo Ann

I used to use sheets for quilt backings all the time when I first started quilting. Never had a problem and never had a needle break. I don't see a problem with it.