Question about Wool Fabric
#11
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: From Baltimore, currently live in Charlotte, NC
Posts: 501
Originally Posted by Tiffany
Originally Posted by littlehud
If the wool is not washable I wouldn't use it.
#12
Have you priced wool for applique? An 8" square is usually $2. 50 a square. Wash the wool in the hottest water you have, some even boil the wool in water. 100% wool will felt and be the best fabric you ever worked with. Wool blends if at least 95% wool is great too. Felted wool can be laundered, wool felt cannot.
#13
I have made several 100% wool quilts, none of them felted. They are washed in cold water, the same as wool skirts and other clothing. Some are 20 years old and are just fine. Wool does not have to be felted to be used in quilts, you just have to treat it like wool and not like cotten.
#14
You probably don't want to use it as the whole quilt... it would be soooooo heavy. But wool is fabulous to use for applique. You must felt it first... wash and dry in dryer to shrink. It will shrink perhaps as much as 50%. There is a new pattern in the current Keepsake Quilts catalog that is a BOM and all in wool.. it might give you some ideas... if you were thinking of a large quilt. I combine wool and cotton as well... sometimes cotton as the surface on which to applique the wool. :mrgreen: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
#15
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: From Baltimore, currently live in Charlotte, NC
Posts: 501
I see there are a lot of different ways to work with the wool. I am fortunate to have quite a bit of it. It's a plaid, with grays, blues, maroon. I'm trading some with one person on here for some blue, gray, and purple cotton to build my stash. If anyone else is interestsed, I have plenty to trade. I am going to keep two yards of it but have about 3 left over. Haven't measured it yet but it's way more than double what my arms can hold outstretched.
THANK YOU for all of the suggestions/hints/tips!!
Sharon
THANK YOU for all of the suggestions/hints/tips!!
Sharon
#16
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: From Baltimore, currently live in Charlotte, NC
Posts: 501
Originally Posted by BellaBoo
Have you priced wool for applique? An 8" square is usually $2. 50 a square. Wash the wool in the hottest water you have, some even boil the wool in water. 100% wool will felt and be the best fabric you ever worked with. Wool blends if at least 95% wool is great too. Felted wool can be laundered, wool felt cannot.
#17
Originally Posted by ghostrider
I have made several 100% wool quilts, none of them felted. They are washed in cold water, the same as wool skirts and other clothing. Some are 20 years old and are just fine. Wool does not have to be felted to be used in quilts, you just have to treat it like wool and not like cotten.
Funny story. Well, not for my friend. She had an old stove and fridge downstairs in a side room off her quilting room. She didn't use them and instead stored several kits and all her wool fabric in the oven. One of her cats loves to sleep on top of the fridge (under the heater vent) and one day he jumped down and his paw hit the dial and turned the oven on. She was asleep at the time and woke to a house full of smoke. (Thank God she woke up!) She turned the oven off & had to throw away all her cotton fabric, but the wool she washed and it survived just fine. In fact, she just used it all to make a gorgeous applique bag. I was amazed at how well the wool held up, even after being cooked. Needless to say, the oven is now unplugged! :lol:
#18
Originally Posted by Tiffany
True, but if you are making a quilt as a gift, I would wash the wool in hot water and shrink it first. I'd hate to give a quilt away after spending hundreds of hours making it only to have the person shrink it while washing it & have all the stitching pull loose. Just a thought.
#20
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Maryville, Tn
Posts: 1,786
I too am going to go against what most have said. My grandmother used to make "comforters" out of old suits and the fabric content was usually wool and corduroys. She kept the weights of the fabric more consistent than the content. they were what she called "postcard" quilts, as that's what she used to make the bricks. She would back them with flannel and use a higher loft batting, and they were tied instead of quilted. They were wonderfully cozy in her house in the winter.. we would sleep on feather beds with a couple of those and yes.. they were heavy.. but we stayed toasty even when the space heater was in a different room.
I'm sure those comforters were washed.. probably in her wringer machine, and hung on the line to dry. and probably washed once a year. Have fun with your new found treasures.
I'm sure those comforters were washed.. probably in her wringer machine, and hung on the line to dry. and probably washed once a year. Have fun with your new found treasures.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post