Quilting Cottons Shrinkage ...
05-18-2014, 09:31 AM
#22
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The cotton batting for vintage quilts was never prewashed. It would have fallen apart! These days it's possible to preshrink cotton batting -- because of needlepunching and surface bonding treatments -- but I'm not sure why someone would want to do this. For those who want a more modern "comforter" look, it's much easier to purchase polyester batting (which does not shrink) than to preshrink cotton batting (which typically shrinks about 3%).
05-18-2014, 01:52 PM
#23
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An heirloom is just something that is valued and passed down for years through a family 
the function, style, design, color, etc does not make it an heirloom....... 
what you may term your "utility" quilt can very well end up an heirloom. And if you use said quilt often enough with your kids, they will want to keep it.....making it an heirloom.
the function, style, design, color, etc does not make it an heirloom....... what you may term your "utility" quilt can very well end up an heirloom. And if you use said quilt often enough with your kids, they will want to keep it.....making it an heirloom.
05-19-2014, 03:30 AM
#26
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Many years ago I pre-washed a bunch of fabrics at the same time. I measured all of them before and after and YES different fabrics had a different shrink rate. I no longer have the details of the experiment, but I remember the outcome well enough. It was not all one manufacturer across the board ... some Moda's had more shrink than others, ditto for some of the other top brands. It was "scattered" ... but there was a lot of variance between the least and most amount of shrinkage.
05-26-2014, 05:01 AM
#27
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OK, I know... I should prewash fabrics... but... I'm not creating heirlooms here (and least they don't look like heirlooms to me!) ... lol.... So prewashing just isn't going to happen if I can help it....
But have any of you found that some brands of cottons shrink more than others? To the point of being troublesome? Or is it just a crap-shoot?
Just curious.
But have any of you found that some brands of cottons shrink more than others? To the point of being troublesome? Or is it just a crap-shoot?
Just curious.
05-26-2014, 05:07 AM
#28
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I pre wash because I especially can't stand the smell of the fabric, allergies. They use so much dye and fragrance and I am prone to really nasty headaches (migraines) triggered. I also don't like bleeding. If one is prone to heavy perspiration and gets near some of these fabrics, the dye will bleed because of it. I've seen it happen.
05-26-2014, 05:09 AM
#29
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Another thing about prewashing fabric, especially for infant/toddler quilts for those who have allergies. Who wants to send a child of any age into an allergic reaction such as an asthmatic attack?
05-26-2014, 07:31 AM
#30
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It's usual to wash a finished quilt before giving it away. In that case, it's not necessary to prewash fabric.
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