Please share your tips when using flannel
#12
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2009
Location: NY
Posts: 10,590
How interesting. I have not experienced this and have quilted several flannel backs. The quilt I did front and back had tons and tons of ruler work. It was mostly SID so I used my straight ruler a lot.
#13
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 12,930
It may not be a problem, especially if the quilting lines are not far apart. I was in a Harriet Hargrave class where she showed us a flannel quilt she had made to prove that even flannel did not need to be prewashed for a quilt. Her point was that, once it is quilted, it is the batting that controls shrinkage. She measured her quilt before and after washing, and the shrinkage was even and the amount expected from the batting (which in her case was, I think, Hobbs 80/20). The quilt was nice and soft and not distorted at all.
#14
Power Poster
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Mableton, GA
Posts: 11,334
My very first quilt about 10 years ago, was flannel trip around the world with 3" finished squares. what was the teacher thinking? Anyway, it wasn't prewashed and it wasn't starched and I used a 1/4" seam. I used warm and natural batting and a flannel backing. Stitched in the ditch. It has held up great. I guess it might have shrunk when I washed it, but, my granddaughter loves it. She is 9 and a half and still has it on her bed between her big girl blankets. It has been washed a gazillion times (well maybe not that much) and it is still in good shape. Now when I use flannel I wash it a few times and put it in the dryer. I still use 1/4" seams. I am not a starcher even though I have three different kinds.
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Killeen, Texas
Posts: 329
If you plan to machine quilt, my best tip is to heavily starch the flannel backing before layering. This will stabilize the flannel so you don't get puckers and tucks. My method is to mix a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water, "paint" this on with a large wall painting brush, wait a few minutes to make sure that the flannel absorbs the starch, toss in dryer, then iron with steam.
I think I'll give it a try! Thanks for this tip!
#17
I live in the humid south where winters are mild and summers are just plain hot! I like to to make what I guess they used to call "summer quilts" with no batting and use flannel for the backing. It makes for a comfy cozy quilt that really breathes. If I use quality flannel I don't prewash (unless it's a deep color that might bleed) it will shrink and still give that puckered old fashioned look I love so much.
And ditto on the checking for lint. Even prewashed flannel makes a TON of lint. I've gotten in the habit of lifting out the bobbin case and giving the area a quick brush EVERY time I change the bobbin, no matter what I'm sewing. Between projects, I take off the throat plate as well the upper cover (needle area) and clean the lint out of everything I can reach with a lint brush.
And ditto on the checking for lint. Even prewashed flannel makes a TON of lint. I've gotten in the habit of lifting out the bobbin case and giving the area a quick brush EVERY time I change the bobbin, no matter what I'm sewing. Between projects, I take off the throat plate as well the upper cover (needle area) and clean the lint out of everything I can reach with a lint brush.
#18
That is my main TIP also..................clean the machine before you start......and about every half bobbin, or anytime you take a break from sewing....clean, clean,clean especially if flannel is not prewashed and dried in dryer.....packed up lint and fuzz is terrible for your machine. killer for sure !
#20
I just love all the information I get from all of you seasoned quilters. I appreciate it so much. One question, can you buy flannel for backing in the 108" size? Or do you have to piece all the time?
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