Jane Quilter

So Rob, how do you know if a fabric is a "balanced weave" before you buy it?

irishrose

I would never buy quilting cottons that were ripped. They aren't always straight on the bolts and because they are wound while damp, it is too hard to straighten them. I did recently buy muslin from JoAnn's (108" wide) and the clerk said they are to tear all muslin. She did and it was perfectly straight with no loss. I wash my regular width cottons, press them and wiggle them so they feel straight and cut. If they are a little off grain, it doesn't matter much on a small piece.

rryder

Quilting cottons are almost always a balanced plain weave. Basically, the balanced part means that your warp and weft threads are the same weight, thickness and material and you are not doubling up or using multiples of one or the other. Plain weaves are fabrics in which you have a weft thread that alternates going over and under the warp threads--think of a checkerboard.

Lots of those nice home dec fabrics that have different kinds of threads to get texture, or sheen in some areas are not balanced weaves. They may have many different types and thicknesses of threads in either the warp or the weft, or sometimes both. In addition, they may use different kinds of weave structures such as twill, or brocades in which the weft skips over more than one warp at a time.

Rob

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Jane Quilter

Thanks Rob, an excellent explanation of balanced and unbalanced weave. I learn something every day at the forum.

QuiltnLady1

I don't like to have my fabric ripped cross grain because it really distorts. I do tear my borders along the straight of grain because I want them to be a true straight of grain.

Aurora

I remember when fabric stores had meters to measure the fabric, they clipped the fabric and the clerk would tear the fabric at the clip. It doesn't bother me when fabric torn. I am not sure what the difference is between torn and ripped.

Donnamarie

I am a fan of ripping. I usually rip my fabric, sometimes to find the straight of grain and then I will do it if ripping for a long border (because I'm lazy). You can always rip a little bigger and trim off the ripped edges if you like. I will also rip my fabric the length I need (plus little extra) to use so I only have to iron that piece and not the entire piece of fabric. Works well, I have never had a problem, been doing it for 30+ years.

Yooper32

One of the shops I frequent rips and I hate it. I have been told that if you ask, they will cut, but it makes me feel like a dummy for not wanting what the shop owner insists on as their way of doing it. She is definitely "old school".

Pennyhal

Are you trying to straighten the fabric, or are you trying to square up the print on the fabric? If the fabric is printed off grain, it is visually more appealing to have the print straight than the fabric.

tessagin

Anytime I've purchased fabric, it has always been cut, never ripped. I can tell you if they ripped fabric I was about to purchase, they would have to remeasure it before I left the store or "cut" me a piece as I first requested.