Pre washing flannel & minky
05-30-2014, 09:34 AM
#11
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Chula Vista CA
Posts: 7,336
I wash my flannel on warm and dry it on warm. Since I don't know anyone that uses hot water to wash anymore. But I also tell them they should wash the quilt in cool or cold water. If I believe the flannel will bleed then I would wash it twice and check again. The past few years I have not had a problem with bleeding. It does help to starch the flannel when you get ready to use it. It helps it behave and stay flat when putting the sandwich together.
05-30-2014, 09:45 AM
#12
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Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,198
I made a baby quilt for my DGD 6 years ago, pieced top and Minky back. It has been washed a lot in those 6 years and thrown in the dryer with the rest of the clothes, no special treatment. She still sleeps with it every night. If your dryer gets hot enough to melt Minky, it will be hot enough to melt your polyester and rayon clothing, and I've never heard of anyone's clothes melting in a dryer, even when using the ones at the laundromat, and they get very hot.
Originally Posted by dd
I usually wash & dry flannel a couple times before I use it. Minky really sheds when its cut but after you have made the quilt there is nothing special they need to do. Guess a really hot dryer would melt the minky.
05-30-2014, 11:04 AM
#13
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Tulsa, Ok
Posts: 4,582
Originally Posted by dunster
Flannel really needs pre-washing. It's notorious for bleeding, shrinking, and pilling. I wash it in hot water and dry with heat. It may take more than one wash if it bleeds. If it pills, it doesn't get used except inside a rag quilt..
05-30-2014, 03:10 PM
#14
Power Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 12,930
If you are piecing the flannel, you will want to starch it as heavily as possible after pre-washing. Starch stabilizes flannel so you can cut and sew it without introducing unwanted stretch and distortion. Also, if you are piecing flannel, it's a good idea to use 1/2" seams on it, as flannel frays more easily than other cotton fabrics.
05-30-2014, 05:09 PM
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Haverhill, MA
Posts: 498
Flannel is a loose woven fabric (compared to your quilting cotton) which is why it shrinks up so bad. You will need to ensure it is washed at the very least the hottest temp the recipient is going to use. That way it will shrink as much as it needs to before you quilt it. Pre-washing is essential when using flannel
Minky is a polyester fabric. You do NOT need to pre-wash. If you do decide to pre-wash the minky, you need to finish the edges first. Either serge the edges or hem it. If you do not do that, your washer and dryer will be a stinking mess
polyester is not a woven fabric, it will shed horribly. It will not shrink, other than the parts that fall off in your machine.
Minky is a polyester fabric. You do NOT need to pre-wash. If you do decide to pre-wash the minky, you need to finish the edges first. Either serge the edges or hem it. If you do not do that, your washer and dryer will be a stinking mess
polyester is not a woven fabric, it will shed horribly. It will not shrink, other than the parts that fall off in your machine.
06-01-2014, 07:26 AM
#16
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 166
I have made 2 small blankets with minky. I read somewhere that the quilt top will shrink but the minky will not so it is necessary to wash the quilt top.
I did wash my quilt top before quilting them together. It was a thready mess that took some time to iron out but it made sense to me to prewash.
I did wash my quilt top before quilting them together. It was a thready mess that took some time to iron out but it made sense to me to prewash.
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