Maybe I am missing something really obvious. Do you ever iron a completed and washed quilt????

I am putting together my very-first-to-be-quilted sandwich using high loft poly. It was nicely puffy because I got out the wrinkles by fluffing it per suggestions on the board in dryer low with damp hand towel.

So - being nervous about quilting it - I got the idea to put a piece of cotton cloth over a test piece and iron it down a little. WHOAA! It fused right up to itself!

You can see it is fuzzy on one side and fused into a sheet on the other.

If this quilt got ironed, it would get flat and stiff.

I'm switching to low-loft 80-20 which seems much more docile and got its wrinkles out when I steamed it in the shower. I tried ironing it and it behaved well.

But what about ironing? And while I'm on the subject, what about permanent press cotton?

You all have been great help with all your posts and I appreciate your assistance.

thanks
Sue

Poly batting will melt when ironed with a hot iron. I found this out on one of my first quilts. I prefer cotton batting. Every one has their own favorite. Permanent Press cotton take a little cooler iron.

I made the mistake of putting a quilt made with poly batting in the dryer at a laundromat. That dryer gets a lot hotter than the one I have at home, and so it melted the batting a little - gave it that "shrunken" look as if it had been cotton batting, and made it feel stiffer. Not enough damage to ruin it, but still I was upset.

I think you could iron a quilt with poly batting but your iron would have to be on a LOW setting, not cotton.

I would not try and iron poly batting unless it is with a much cooler iron setting. It will melt just like polyester clothes on a cotton setting :D:D:D

Is there a reason why you want to iron a quilt? I guess I don't understand why you would want to do this -- except maybe if it's a quilt sandwich and ironing will flatten it so it fits under the arm of a domestic machine better.

I did want to flatten it a little for just that reason. But other than one antique Mennonite quilt I bought up in Ontario Canada which sits pristine on the guest bed, I've never had proper quilts. You just let them get a little wrinkly?

Why don't we all use pre-shrunk perm-press cotton ?

Just another newbie thought...:)

Pre-shrunk perm-press cotton fabric?

I personally like the look of antique quilts, which were made with 100% cotton batting and 100% cotton fabrics. I like the way they crinkle up and get softer with every washing. These battings are thin to start with, so really don't need to be flattened by ironing (although you could safely do it).

I don't pre-wash fabrics, but rather just let everything shrink up together (3% shrinkage is typical). Most fabrics these days shrink up at about the same amount but, if you get one that shrinks more, it really doesn't matter if you have done a lot of machine quilting; quilting keeps fabric from shrinking excessively. Most fabrics these days are also colorfast; however, I do test suspicious fabrics before using in a quilt. If they fail my tests, then I do a treatment with Retayne to set color. Even if they don't shrink as much as the unwashed fabric in the quilt, they will still be crinkled up by the batting shrinkage. It all seems to work out in the end.

Using pre-shrunk fabric and unshrinkable batting (polyester) results in a quilt that looks very different. Nothing crinkles up and the look is very much more modern.

Here's to NOT pre-washing! I like the way they age themselves over time.

Prism,
You've finally managed to get through my head why some choose not to pre-wash. A 3 percent shrinkage overall is not bad, and even twice that on one fabric is only 6 percent so big deal. Plus you don't lose the fabric to raveling. I haven't used retayne but will check it out. And I would never have to iron a miserable wrinkled up ravelled-edge yard of fabric again, only to spray-size it into its previous shape which will only shrivel up again.

As we say here in MA, "Light dawns over Marblehead!"

I can't wait to try my next project without the prewash!

Thank you!!

Tonnee quote: Here's to NOT pre-washing! I like the way they age themselves over time.
I'm aging over time, too, so I guess it is all part of life. LOL
thank you