I have always been a proponent of using wide backings for quilts.  In fact, I have LOTS of 118″ wide fabric and some 108″ wide fabric in stock for my customers’ quilts.  Attempting to sew through multiple layers of seams can wreak havoc on my longarm quilting machine, so these wide backs make my job a lot easier and does less damage to my machine.  I just read this article on another blog that I thought was worth sharing.  She mentions how it really is cheaper (and it is, trust me!) to use wide backs than it is to buy regular width fabric and then piece it.  She even has measurements of how much fabric you will need.  I have to disagree with her on the amount, though, as I cannot get a quilt backing with only 1 inch.  I need a minimum of 4 inches extra on EACH side – see the tab above marked “Batting and Backing.”  Check out her blog post here.