muslin as backing

What she said. I would add that with muslin you don't get fading or
color run that you can get with expensive 'good quality' prints.
(I am still holding a grudge about a Beyer red print)

I still say there isn't any thing as pretty as fine hand quilting on
good muslin backing. I do like the 30's vintage so that maybe why
I often use muslin. I did one quilt with a Benertex TOT wide backing.
I ordered that online. It wasn't cheap and the quality was somewhat
diaappointing. I would bet dollars to donuts that it will last less
than a quality muslin.

With many quilts there is a lot going on. Color, pattern, print.
A place to rest your eye is not always bad imo.
Taria

Sandy Ellison wrote:
Howdy!

Good muslin is as good as any other cotton fabric, and will last as long
on the back or the front of a quilt. If y'all are buying the cheap stuff,
you're getting what you pay for, and often you're not satisfied with it.
Muslin is a traditional quilting fabric, used for hundreds of years.
It blends well w/ most patterns, is friendly to other cottons, and makes a
great canvas for showing quilting stitches. Bleached muslin gives a
crisp, clean appearance to a finished quilt; Garden Path
http://tinyurl.com/keapa
is 15 yrs. old and looks just as good now as it did when it was finished:
http://tinyurl.com/ypwum8
I esp. like muslin used w/ 1920-1940s fabrics, including the modern day
reproductions; these older DWR just pop off the surface w/ a bleached muslin
background & plenty of good quilting:

It's not thin, cheap muslin; they used "the good stuff" when they made
those tops, which are 60-75 yrs. old.
Knowing the tools of the trade, including the fabrics, makes for an
easier time w/ quilting. There are hundreds of books in the quilting world,
many of them w/ very good info about fabric, quilts, basting, how to get
basting pins to pop up so they can be closed, how to save fingers when
pin basting (use the right tools), how to choose good fabric to make a
quality product, how to make a quilt that's worth the time & effort that
goes into it. Researching the craft can be such a pleasure, too. ;-)
RCTQ & other online quilt groups are a delightful way to learn
and share, & books let us hold a wealth of information in our hands.

Ragmop/Sandy --still discovering new wonders in quilting


On 8/21/07 7:45 AM, in article
, "
wrote:


On Aug 13, 12:55 pm, "ME-Judy" wrote:

Works great! BUT, be sure not to get the cheaper kind, 'cuz it shrinks a
BUNCH! (Our local TSWLTH has 36" wide (the shrinky kind!) and 45"-90"-120"
wide which work great.) I found this out when I used the cheapo stuff to
back my doggie placemats. It shrunk so much that the edges curled!
My 2 cents worth.

ME-Judy

"Anne Rogers" wrote in message

...




it's a bit of a dim question, but do you think muslin is ok as the backing
for a wall hanging? it's small, 25 inches square.

Cheers
Anne- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

In my opinion , it is a lot of work to put a quilt together and also
can be expensive depending on the style of it . Why would any of you
want to go cheap on the backing ? Dont you want it to look is good on
the back as well? And aside from that it will last longer.
Genny.

In article ,
Sandy Ellison wrote:

Good muslin is as good as any other cotton fabric, and will last as long
on the back or the front of a quilt.


I agree wholeheartedly. I used to use muslin exclusively on the backs
(and some fronts) of my quilts and still do so frequently, especially
for hand quilted pieces. There's nothing like the look of hand quilting
on a muslin back!

--
Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas
sfoster 1 (at) earthlink (dot) net (remove/change the obvious)
http://www.sandymike.net

Boca Jan wrote:
I have had muslin shrink with the first washing 1" per 12". The resulting
piece was wrinkled and ironing just didn't do the trick.

I would not use muslin for anything to do with quilting.

All muslin is not created equal. I have used a lot of Roc-Lon muslin
from JoAnn fabrics in my quilts, both in the tops and for backing, and
have never had any problem with it. Good muslin is less expensive than
other good quilting fabrics. I often use muslin for backing on bed
quilts and wall hangings, when the backing is generally not seen because
it is one way I can save a little money. I would rather use muslin on
the backs than to skimp on the fabric for the top.

Julia in MN

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