Hello, Stella!

Our Resident Quilting Expert, Meg Cox has this to say: "Lots of beginners have made an early quilt using an old sheet for the backing fabric: it's a kind of classic rookie move. Lightening won't strike you, I promise, but typically the cotton used for sheets, especially fancy ones, is much more tightly woven than the cotton used for quilts, so it's harder to sew through. Especially if you try to use a knitted cotton sheet, which will be very stretchy and hard to control.

That said, frugal crafters sometimes complain about spending $10 a yard for the multiple yards of backing fabric that few people will see. There are many solutions, including shopping the sales. My local quilt shop always has discounted merch in the back room, and the fabric is as much as half off. If you take the whole rest of the bolt, the discount may be greater.

Another frugal move is to sew together your larger pieces of leftover fabric to make your backing rather than buying 4 or 5 yards of something new: it has become very stylish to piece the back, so it isn't just one big swatch of one fabric.

But the main rule of thumb for making quilts is to buy the best quality cotton you can afford, because you want it to last longer than the sun dress your daughter will outgrow in 6 months."