Question about Kona black solid fabric
#11
Super Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,391
I made a quilt with large areas of black. I was told I should have used a black batt with that, as it did some bearding when it was quilted; the white of the batt came through to the front with all the needle punches.
#12
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Hamburg,Western New York State
Posts: 4,856
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Martensdale, Iowa
Posts: 319
My experience with Walmarts black fabric is that it bleeds alot. Just buy a 1/2 a yard and take it home and put it in your bath room sink and add a little laundry soap and hot tap water and swish it around a little and let it set in the water. Go back and check it in 20 minutes. And you will be surprised how much it bleeds. I always wash all dark fabrics no matter what brand they are just to be on the safe side.
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 851
Kona Black is my favorite standby. Never without it, I am just finishing my 4th bolt! I will order two bolts to restock in the next day or so. I've never encountered a problem with Kona Black other than making sure I don't run out of it! Lots of charity quilting goes on here - 100 to 150 tops per year.
#15
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,666
I have used Kona black. It does have a heavier hand that I don't like, but it still works just fine in a quilt. One thing I noticed is that it is very "stringy". That is, when I cut it into 2.5" strips, the strips developed a lot of threads fraying along each side. I much prefer Michael Miller's black, which is a very deep black and has a hand similar to other quilting fabrics. However, it can shrink a lot, so it is a good idea to prewash it and dry it before using (and purchase extra length to make up for the shrinkage).
#17
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 3,257
I have used the Kona black from HL and it has worked well. On the other hand, the Waverly fabric that I used from Walmart for placemats seemed to shrink up quite a bit. (Not black) I did not measure it before I washed the finished placemats but I know they turned out smaller than I thought.
#18
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: South Central Indiana
Posts: 1,931
#19
Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 180
You know, your comments in regards to the weight of Kona fabrics is interesting. I have two experiences with Kona: I ordered a Kona fabric from Fabric.com in a light pink; it was somewhat thin but worked well. I purchased Kona steel-gray from JoAnn's, and it was considerably heavier than what I had previously bought. BOTH of these purchases said "Kona Cotton Broadcloth," and both were used as backing. So, I am really confused about the term "broadcloth," since I was not specifically looking for that. I have researched and cannot find out if Kona 100% cotton fabric and Kona 100% Cotton Broadcloth are EXACTLY the same fabric. Does anyone know? Anyway, the pink worked well, and for that matter, so did the heavier gray, but I would not have wanted to use the grey with some of the "gentler" fabrics I use -Moda, Wilmington, etc. Also, the Kona grey unraveled a lot, so much so that I will be using the leftover in a rag quilt -a quilt I have to date always used only flannels. As for fading or running, I prewashed both, and I had no problem.
#20
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,666
I have used the Kona black from HL and it has worked well. On the other hand, the Waverly fabric that I used from Walmart for placemats seemed to shrink up quite a bit. (Not black) I did not measure it before I washed the finished placemats but I know they turned out smaller than I thought.
I did overcast the edges before dunking the pieces.
I was also happily surprised by how color fast the pieces seemed to be - a bright royal blue, a turquoise, a magenta, a bright orange, a gray, a bright yellow, a lime green.
It is somewhat coarsely/loosely woven - but then I looked at some of the Alexander Henry's available now - and it looked about the same to me.
I did not have much of a raveling problem with it, either.
It was adequate for the fabrics I was using it with.
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