Karuna

I am going to make a quilt entirely from linen for my sister. The front will be the Tapas pattern of 14 different colors, the back will be solid color linen. 2 questions: (1) linen frays so easily - has anyone serged edges when piecing?; and (2) sister cannot have/does not want silk, synthetic (no polyester), wool - suggestions for a batting? is there a linen/flax batting? pure cotton batting? Thank you. Karuna

Iceblossom

It's going to depend on your fabrics, you might want to increase your seam width or trim with pinking shears. I've seen serged quilts before with mixed results. Something like a jelly roll race can serge very nicely, but again, it's how your fabric reacts and whether it makes nice edges or uncomfortable ridges.

There are pure (organic even) cotton battings. You could run the idea of bamboo past her, some people feel the processing is excessive for a "pure" product.

juliasb

Yes, I have surged the edges. I made my pieces 1/2" larger and trimmed the same way as I would if I were paper piecing. This way I would still have a finished 1/4" seam to the back. It does require marking all pieces 1/4" larger than the pattern pieces. For me this worked great. As far as batting I would stay with W&N.

Doggramma

I’ve done double stitching on fabrics that fray too much. I sew the 1/4 inch first, then go back and sew another row about 1/8 inch away from that.

Jordan

My only suggestion would be to cut your fabric squares or pieces larger and cut with pinking shears if you have them. Good luck on your project.

Peckish

You can purchase pinking blades for your rotary cutter, I think this would be the easiest option to implement. Serging is also a good option. Regarding battings, there are 100% cotton battings available; be aware that they will shrink. If you like that crinkly-antique-quilt look, you'll be fine. If you don't want it to crinkle much, purchase a cotton batting that includes instructions for how to pre-shrink it. If your sister has environmental concerns, avoid bamboo. I did a lot of research on bamboo batting about 10 years ago and it is horrid for the environment.

You might find these links about sewing/quilting with linen helpful:
https://www.stitchedincolor.com/blog...ith-linen.html
https://suzyquilts.com/quilty-advent...-vi-sew-linen/
https://www.mybluprint.com/article/quilting-with-linen
https://www.quiltylove.com/quilting-essex-linen-fabric/
https://www.quiltingdaily.com/using-linen-in-quilts/

Karuna

Thank you - will use wider seam allowances

Karuna

Thank you and I did check out the links that you included, very much appreciated

Karuna

I don't have pinking shears, never really considered them. I like the idea of wider seams and double stitching, using smaller stitches. I did check out those great web sites and I'm looking forward to starting on the quilt, waiting on some raspberry color linen from Europe, will be using heavy weight linen, lots of "rubs" because sister has dogs who are allowed on the bed

RedGarnet222

Please do yourself a favor and pre wash those fabrics before starting the quilt. Linen can run colors badly in the wash with the deeper colors. White vinegar in the rinse water helps stop it and set the color. Also, it can shrink. It depends on the weave of the fabric how much.