Afghan Backing

[moscoops]

Sorry if this has been posted before (this is my first post), but is it possible to sew fabric onto the back of an afghan? I made a small one for my nephew but I don't like how I can see the thread from the appliques I sewed on so I would like to put a fabric backing on it. Is this possible and how do I do it?

[nancybanta]

If you're going to use fabric, make sure it's not going to shrink or stretch and ruin what you crocheted.  You'd have to hand stitch it on.  Most ladies I know who like to back their afghans so they're not dealing with weaving in ends crochet a second afghan of the same size and just attach the two afghans together with a border.

[Granny Square]

I agree with Nancy, in that you need to be very careful that the backing not pull/distort the blanket.  

 

If the blanket is acrylic, use a polyester fabric - even then, wet the fabric and shrink it in the dryer first.

 

Make the backing slightly bigger, plus allow for a hem to turn under.  Hem it, then cut a length of your yarn and threat thru a large eyed sharp needle.  Attach the fabric to your blanket evenly spaced (does not need to be really close together, maybe every 6 or 8 inches).  From the backing side, thread a length of yarn, poke it to the front, make a small stitch, then poke it to the back again' repeat in nearly the same spot, as if you were making a cross stitch x on the right side of the fabric; tie securely and trim ends (google surgeon's knot, quilters knot).  Make sure you don't pull the fabric tight at all, in fact try to give the fabric as much ease as you can (extra fabric just short of a wrinkle).  If anything, it's better to have the backing wrinkle a bit than having the blanket not lie flat.

 

Google 'how to make a hand tied quilt', they can probably explain it better than I have.  By tying the backing on, rather than sewing it tightly, you are giving each piece a little wiggle room so they have a better chance of lying flatter. The quilt directions might tell you to tie them closer than 6" to keep the batting from shifting, but you don't need to worry about batting.  

 

http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/10/how-to-hand-tie-a-quilt/