wrinkled table runners and placemats
#1
wrinkled table runners and placemats
I don't prewash quilt fabric as I want some shrinkage, I like the look after the quilt is washed but when I use those same scraps for a table runner etc then they are to small to prewash and the runners come out wrinkled and puckered sometimes and so crisp and beautiful before washing. Any advice. Should I just spritz with a squirt bottle with water and dry. They would ravel down to nothing if I tried to wash 4 or 5 inch squares.
#2
Power Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 11,276
I wash them in the sink (well, swish them in hot water & a squirt of laundry detergent), put them in a salad spinner & then lay them out on the counter to dry over night. You can also dampen and iron with a hot iron. I don't think spritzing & drying will do much.
Be sure to pre wash your cotton batting, or use polyester as that will also shrink!
Be sure to pre wash your cotton batting, or use polyester as that will also shrink!
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 453
It might be the batting that is shrinking so much! Small pieces don't have much wiggle room to shrink if they are quilted down, so perhaps trying a polyester batting would solve the problem. Close quilting on cotton batting would help as well. Not just stitch in the ditch around 5" pieces, but all over quilting.
#4
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,666
I wash them in the sink (well, swish them in hot water & a squirt of laundry detergent), put them in a salad spinner & then lay them out on the counter to dry over night. You can also dampen and iron with a hot iron. I don't think spritzing & drying will do much.
Be sure to pre wash your cotton batting, or use polyester as that will also shrink!
Be sure to pre wash your cotton batting, or use polyester as that will also shrink!
Think thong underwear - bikini swimsuits -
I really do not understand the "big deal" about washing small pieces by hand and air drying them.
#5
Power Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Southern California
Posts: 19,127
I usually just steam press my fabric and the fabric actually shrinks a bit. Not enough time in life to pre-wash all my fabrics (I live in an apt complex) especially since I work a lot with small scraps from a major fabric manufacturer's discards.
#6
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Tulsa, Ok
Posts: 4,582
I suspect it is the shrinking of the batting. Most cotton battings will shrink 3-5%. So for table runners and placemats I presoak my cotton batting in hot water and dry it before assembly. I have also used low loft polyester batting in these projects with good results and no shrinkage. I will also presoak (not wash in the washer)the fabrics in warm water in the sink and lay flat to dry to avoid fraying. With both fabric and batting preshrunk they stay flat after washings.
#7
thank you all so much. I do have some polyester batting I rarely use but will next time. I thought that if I gifted a table runner and someone put a hot casserole dish on it that the polyester would melt but I will certainly try it.
#8
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Central NJ
Posts: 5,572
It might be the batting that is shrinking so much! Small pieces don't have much wiggle room to shrink if they are quilted down, so perhaps trying a polyester batting would solve the problem. Close quilting on cotton batting would help as well. Not just stitch in the ditch around 5" pieces, but all over quilting.
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