Tothill

All the quilts I have made to date have been straight lines or HST, without bias edges. I have not used starch.

I am planning to make a very good friend, a 60 degree triangle quilt, for her new baby. I am looking for tips and tricks.

I bought Best Press. It was the only starch at my local quilt shop.

I am using a FQ bundle, plus yardage for the quilt. I generally wash yardage and do not wash precuts, but in this case, I am not sure if I should wash all the fabric or none? I do not know if Best Press works better on fabric that has been washed?

Please, share your tips with me.

Prism99

I would not pre-wash. You don't need to purchase starch in a quilt shop; your local grocery store or Walmart will carry it. Should be in the area of laundry detergents. I would get a heavy spray starch. Best Press does not stabilize the fabric as much as spray starch. However, if you don't pre-wash, there may be enough stabilizers in the fabric so that Best Press is enough.

Even with starch, pay attention to how you handle the pieces while you sew. You don't want to be rough with those edges. Some machines are better than others at feeding fabric without stretching it.

I do not worry about fabric shrinkage with fabric that is not pre-washed. This is because quilting binds the 3 layers of the quilt together which means that the batting will not allow the fabric to shrink more than the batting shrinks. The quilting does need to be moderate -- every 4" or so. If your quilting lines are 12" apart, then the fabric has enough space to shrink more than the batting and cause distortion.

I do the first wash of the quilt in Synthrapol so that any dye bleeds do not stain the other fabrics.

bearisgray

I wash EVERYTHING washable before cutting it - because I prefer as flat a look as possible.

Much as I am unenthused about starch and sizing, when cutting triangles, it is a good idea to starch/size the fabric before cutting it.

I did learn - the hard way - that it is better for the treated fabric to dry a bit before trying to iron/press it.

When soggy wet, it can stretch all over the place.

ManiacQuilter2

Get a 60' degree ruler that has the points cut off because it will make matching the seams easier.

PaperPrincess

I would also wash either all or nothing. I also wash my pre cuts. You can swish them in the sink with hot water & a couple drops of laundry detergent. then rinse. If you have a salad spinner you can use that to get rid of excess water if not, just press between towels. As mentioned, you can check your local grocery store for starch in the laundry detergent section. I know other Canadian members have mentioned that it's hard to find. It's usually less expensive than the best press and will result in a stiffer product.
I prefer the ruler without the tips cut off.
One side of your triangle will be on the straight of grain. Depending on how you want your fabric print to go, you may be able to place a straight of grain edge against a bias edge on at least some of your pieces.

EasyPeezy

I don't wash FQ unless I have some doubts about bleeding. The starch will do just
fine without washing. I wash my quilt after I'm done.

I make my own starch and it works better than those spray starch and is so much cheaper.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...h-t158141.html

dunster

For 60 degree triangles like those in the OBW quilt, I am with PaperPrincess in that I much prefer a triangle ruler without the tips cut off. Best Press is advertised as a starch alternative, not a starch. I've never used it, but I do use spray starch from the grocery store, or Walmart, when I need a stiffer fabric. I prewash FQ's and even scraps. The only things I do not prewash are jelly rolls, charm squares, etc. But that is a personal preference.

QuiltingHaven

I wash all the fabric that I bring in the house. Most fabrics are not made in America anymore (remembering North Carolina where my mom was born and raised on a cotton farm...sigh) and they travel a lot and even watching people in the fabric stores handling the fabric, I want the quilts to be at least starting out washed, shrunk (if it happens) and not changing colors after I create them. I also put my Warm and Natural batting shaken out and put in the dryer with 5 wet wash clothes which does a bit of shrinking so I can at least I make an effort to give my friends and family the best I can.

Jennifer23

I love 60 degree triangles.

I would not prewash anything. The Best Press won't care, and by not prewashing you can take advantage of the starch/sizing that's already in the fabric. However, I also love the crinkly look after a quilt is washed; if you don't like that look, then prewash it all and put it in the dryer to shrink.

I've never had any luck finding spray starch in a grocery store or Walmart in western Canada, but I did find it once at my local dollar store (on clearance for 25 cents! I wish I had bought it all!). I find inhaling the spray starch unpleasant, so I prefer Best Press. I usually just use Best Press now, since I can find it, and it does a good job. I spray it fairly liberally, and let it soak in for a bit before ironing. I have also made triangle quilts without starching; it's certainly doable, but starching is much easier.

When joining triangles I find leaders and enders very useful. Those pointy corners can really get mangled otherwise.

My favourite 60° ruler is the Creative Grids one, which has the tip cut off. If you're only using triangles it doesn't matter, but if you're connecting the triangles to other shapes like diamonds or hexagons, the cut-off tip makes aligning the pieces easier. I actually made my first triangle quilt just using the 60° line on my 6x24" ruler, so whatever you have/choose will be fine.

Like Prism said, try not to overhandle your pieces; those bias edges will start to stretch and fray eventually, even if you starch your fabric to cardboard stiffness.

Tothill

Thank you all for the tips.

I am not worried about bleeding and I loved a the crinkled look of a washed quilt, so I will not prewash.

I have two 60 degree rulers, one has the tip off one point. I will try and few cuts and see which works best for me.

Thank you for the tip about using leaders and enders, I had not thought of that at all.

Thank you for the recipe for homemade starch, I may give that a go, I have a refillable spray bottle, or I may dip the fabric in the starch.