yippie

First I love this sight I have learned so much reading all the fantastic information. Okay First question do you pre wash precuts ie Jellyrolls, and all the others if so how do you do that by hand, and spin dry with a lettuce spinner? Second Question, anyone from North Dakota..... My son and his family will be moving to Williston, North Dakota in a few weeks AUG 10th. My question is what batting should I use to make quilt for hiim and his family I would like to make each of them a Summer and a winter quilt. I know it is HOT in the SUMMER and very very cold in the WINTER. Have not been quilting for very long and my knoledge about BATTING and what one to use and if I should prewash it or not. Also they will probably be washed a LOT.

Can you help me? Also I do not know how to come back and find peoples answers to my thread I am new here also ;~) Yippie

ckcowl

ok- first question--pre-washing- you will get about an equal amount of answeres for both sides- there are folks who pre-wash every single fabric- (precuts are a bit tricky- some people do them by hand- some place them into a mesh laundry bag) and there are folks who never prewash any of their fabrics- and there are some (like me) who prewash some ((if i am worried about a color bleeding- or excessive shrinkage- or if the fabric smells or feels weird) but i never pre-wash pre-cuts...it's your choice- just remember- if you prewash your precuts they will not measure the same as when they were new- patterns will need to be adjusted-
now as for batting-
my choice for your North Dakota bound would be Wool Batting! i love Wool batts!!! they are lightweight- lofty- warm in the winter & cool in the summer- the quilt that lives on my bed has a wool batt & it is wonderful- summer & winter! to add weight/warmth (if you are making separate seasonal quilts) you could use a wool and a cotton batt together---many quilters double up their batts.
polyester batts can be quite warm---since they don't breath-
if i wanted to make a heavy-warm quilt i would probaby use flannel, corduroy or denim for the back (or fleece/minkie---which is amazingly warm & snuggly) a quilt with a warm & natural cotton batting and a fleece backing will keep the coldest person warm!

yippie

ckcowl thank you very much for your help Maybe I will use wool because it is warm or cold then I only have to make 4 quilts right now and I do not think they will have a lot of room in the new house. Yippie

sylvia77

I wouldn't wash pre-cuts, you will end up with a tangled mess.

bearisgray

If one just soaked them in water for a while and swished them in the sink or a large bowl, and handled them carefully, there would not be a tangled mess.

If one just tossed the strips loose in a washing machine, then you would get a mess.

QuiltingHaven

I have done the fabric both ways. I always wash new fabric - use my pinking cutter on the cut edges. On the other, I use a mesh bag that is used for fragile underwear. I have 6 of the bags in different sizes and an HE washer. When I wash any of the fabric, I always put 3 color catchers in one of the mesh bags to catch any washed out colors. I put the squares-jelly roll strips- layer cakes - fat quarters in the mesh bags and wash them with warm water. When I take them out of the washer, I lay them out flat on the washing machine or on a sheet on the floor to gently pulling them bag to their original shapes and then when dry, I iron them (can still be slightly damp if you want). Depending on the company/quality of fabric, some of them may shrink slightly or a lot. Hope this helps.

EasyPeezy

Bearigray, have you ever washed a whole jelly roll (usually 40 strips) like this?

yippie

Thank you all for the great information on the fabric I have never used Jellyrolls or any precuts before this information will really help.

Joset

hi, i am from ND a nice rag quilt made out of fannel both front and back
they would surely use in winter time.

yippie

Thank you I have a nice rag quilt pattern