I like it on those quilts you use a lot. It's loose and cozy. But I get your point, totally :D 

what I did this weekend.  wedding gift, sofa quilt for a black sofa.

Would I be out of line to suggest a maroon or burgundy backing fabric?

not out of line at all.  I know, it feels very bleak to me as well - though not as bad in person as in a photo.  I was planning on doing either minky or a very fluffy fleece for the backing, so the color depends on what I can find.  I figure if I make it very cuddly they will appreciate it more.  They are in Tennessee so it does get a little colder there than TX.   There is a place in Fort Worth that carries wide fleece & minky though it's pricey.  But since a gift I don't mind.  A good part of this has come from my stash so just an investment of time.  (yeah, I could have been working on another jigsaw puzzle - grin).

Oh, my goodness, a minky backing sounds perfect!

yup, I figured even if they didn't really appreciate the quilt they'd enjoy the minky.  I've not ever done a minky backing before so we'll see how it goes.  I understand there are tricks, I'll have to search the internet.

Dee in TX (DBRADFOR3) said:

I understand there are tricks, I'll have to search the internet.

Minky is a knit, much like fleece.   The cut edge is REALLY stretchy.  What I've done is sewn a strip of muslin onto the cut edge so it *won't* stretch.   The muslin strip is going to be cut off when the quilt is squared up, so you can even do an overlap seam rather than a conventional seam.  The overlap part doesn't create a ridge the way a conventional seam will.   If that muslin strip is sufficiently close to the the edge of the top, then the machine carriage will tend to get hung up on the side tensioners ... and that's obnoxious.

But, that's a work-around that has worked nicely for me.  You don't need the muslin strips on the selvage edge, as they are already non-stretchy.

I am not experienced working with Minky/Minkee, but I would suggest wearing a mask (and maybe safety glasses) when working with it.  The little fibers go everywhere, including in one's eyes, and right up one's nose.  

Well, that information would send me right to the best quality polyester fleece I could find.

I've seen where people put masking or painters tape where they are going to cut to limit and shedding.  I was going to try that.  Or as Judy said, find a nice regular fleece.  I've gotten a few that draped really nicely.