nancy59

I started taking my fourth quilting class and our instructor mentioned two things that I had never thought about.
#1 - Always sew with the same type thread as your material. ie cotton to cotton. He said that if you use polyester on cotton it will eventually wear out the seam by sawing thru the cotton material, expecially if you are making a wall hanging.
#2 - If you prewash one fabric for a quilt you must prewash all fabrics - due to shrinkage when you wash the finished quilt.
I am new to quilting but am wondering are there any other hints out there that we newbee's should be aware of?

np3

You will get lots of posts on this, more than you want I'm sure. #1 is not true and you can search on here for the information. #2 is more accurate, but much of the shrinkage depends on the quality of the fabric. Some fabrics shrink a lot and some not so much. You can search for that info as well. The search feature is on the top menu.

Sadiemae

#1 has been told to quilters since time began. I think with the changes in fabrics and thread it is a personal preference. I have a quilt my late DM made me at least 20 years ago. There is no problem with the seams at all. It is faded because it has been used so much, and from the sun.
I definitely agree with #2.

feline fanatic

#1 is a quilting myth. Maybe when you return to class you can educate your educator (Discretely of course! ) with the below link from Superior threads.

http://www.superiorthreads.com/educa...-and-what-isnt

#2 I do agree with. I am a prewasher anyway and all my fab gets prewashed before going into stash. Your batting choice can also affect appearance of quilt after shrinkage.

Hinterland

My hint is to always use the same ruler(s) through out the quilt - different rulers can be different from each other. And, use the same machine for the same reason.

Janet

virtualbernie

Amen, Amen! Ask me how I know??????

dltaylor

Great suggestions

MTS

#2 is a personal preference.

If you have the time and patience, there's nothing wrong if you do.

I stopped washing fabrics about 8 years ago. I couldn't believe how much additional time I had to sew. And I mix and match pre- and post- fabrics in the same quilt all the time.

The only things I wash are some international fabrics (African, Japanese, etc.) which aren't commercially produced.

I NEVER use white fabric, but that's a matter of personal preference.

However, I've never had a problem, and ALL my quilts get washed. Repeatedly.

Again, YMMV.