My July shipment of fabric from Blank Quilting Corporation arrived when I was in Florida. I was so excited to see that it was a collection of widebacks! I received ½ yard cuts of the full collection of Oberon wide back fabrics, by Satin Moon Designs. I used it to make this cool Pool Chair Pouch from the Sew It Yourself project collection.
Sew It Yourself is a new resource for makers, including a cool set of free patterns and resources for learning new skills. It is put together by the Jaftex brand, which includes Blank Quilting Corporation, Henry Glass & Co, Free Spirit Fabrics, Studio E, 3 Wishes, Fabric Editions, and A.E. Nathan Company.
Have you tried wide back fabrics yet? I used to shy away from them in the stores – they seem so expensive, right? In reality, they are a better value than standard quilting cotton. I like to buy a 3 yard cut when I see one I like. That gives me 108” x 108” of fabric, ready to back a quilt. I can skip the process of piecing the back, which is boring. I also like skipping the math, because sometimes I make mistakes, and my backs end up too small. Let’s do some math on fabric costs.
I think the colors in the Oberon collection are fantastic. The subtle tone on tone pattern is sophisticated – there is enough detail to be interesting, but nothing that will fight with your quilt top. I think the light grey is my favorite color, with buttercream being a close second.
Let’s say I have a quilt that is 100” square, just for easy math. With standard fabric I will need at least 7.5 yards to be able to piece together a backing that is large enough for my quilt (108” square). That includes one short and two long seams, so a little bit of prep work removing selvages, pinning and pressing. So, maybe an hour of work, and at $15/yard I will spend $112.50.
With a 108” wide back I will need 3 yards, at $25/yard. ($25/yard is a really high price. You can find Oberon at Fort Worth Fabric Studio for $17/yard). I will spend $75 and have no further work to do. I put a pretty high value on my time, so I think of widebacks as big money savers. They also usually generate some lovely huge scraps, since I rarely make 100” quilts. Sometimes the scraps are large enough for a baby quilt without any further piecing.
Obviously, fabric prices are varying wildly right now, but no matter what numbers you start from, widebacks are cheaper than standard quilting cottons, as long as you are comparing prints to prints and solids to solids.
Okay. Math lesson over.
I chose to make a Pool Chair Pouch with my fabrics this month. We’re going to be spending plenty of time by the pool this winter, and this looks like the perfect thing to tuck into my beach bag. It is always such a struggle to keep my phone and hand stitching project out of the sand. Now I have the perfect thing to keep them safe.
The project itself is super easy. The hardest part for me is cutting out such large pieces accurately. For this one I carefully folded the fabric before cutting, so I could use my ruler lined up on the folded edge to cut the length I needed.
Take your time when you are fusing your interfacing. It takes a while to do a large piece like this, and you really want to be sure everything is properly fused.
Also, do a better job matching your thread to your fabric than I did. That would have kept my wobbly top stitching line from being so obvious. I have no explanation – I swear I wasn’t drinking wine and quilting. Really.
I was pleasantly surprised both by how large this piece turned out to be, and how easy it was to put together.
Big thanks to my neighbor Drew for letting me do a photo shoot on his patio! The pockets are perfect for a fat paperback and a jumbo size sunblock.
The next time you are shopping for fabric for a quilt – take a look at the options in wideback fabrics. They really are fantastic. And if you are looking for a great project, check out Sew It Yourself. I’ve made a few things from them now, and I have enjoyed both. I’m considering making a tote bag to match my Pool Chair Pouch.
You can find Oberon Wide Back fabrics at your local quilt shop soon, or if not, check out Fort Worth Fabrics. They have them available as a pre-order right now.
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That’s a fun idea for the widebacks! I do love using them – saves time and money – and this is a great left over project!
Those would be perfect for me out in the yard so mom can be in the pool all the time and I can still be sewing! I’ll have to check out that project! as for wide back fabrics I’ve been using them for years and believe I had to buy a special one just to ship to my favorite long armer before I decided to jump in and buy my own and start pestering her with questions instead of quilts!
I have never seen Oberon … these are beautiful. I will need an online source to purchase!