The back of a quilt can be just the substrate that helps hold it together … or it can itself be a focal point, just as important as the front.
Sometimes, the backing fabric is what inspires the entire quilt.
And sometimes, the quilting design creates an entirely different look — one that’s worthy of being shown off all by itself.
Either way, careful choices can mean the quilt is reversible — creating two quilts out of one.
The fabric on the back of Midnight Drama first caught my eye — I love the colors and the overall effect. Using it in a quilt block, though, was a bit of a challenge — it’s a directional print, and I’m a bit compulsive about omni-directional blocks. So the answer was to piece the top with coordinating fabrics, and use the inspiration fabric on the back. Here’s the result:
Back side of Midnight Drama – the fabric that inspired the quilt 
The quilting designs of Red Reflections and Sunlight in the Jungle were chosen and placed to complement the piecing on the front. But the tone-on-tone backing fabrics, plus a lofty wool batting, really allow the quilting to shine on the back.
Back side. Quilting design BP Blk 1, from Wasatch Quilting, and Dunbar Border by Angela Huffman
And the backside of Focal Point was a happy accident — coordinating fabric, and an interesting quilting design.
