Can I combine linen & cotton fabrics in a quilt top?
 

Can I combine light-weight linen with quilting cottons in a quilt top? I assume the fabrics would have to be pre-washed. Has anyone successfully combined linen and cotton?

I am new to the Quilting Board and have already found much helpful advice.

Kathleen3

Welcome to the board. I've made several quilts out of recycled shirts. I mixed cotton with washable linen and cotton/linen blends. Since the fabric was recycled, it had been washed (some many times). Didn't have any issues.

I have not personally mixed them, but I've read a few bloggers who have done so with success. Go for it.

I have used linen and quilters cotton in the same quilt. I can tell you I was not all that happy with 100 percent linen when it was washed , it wrinkled and stayed more wrinkled than the other fabrics in the quilt. A linen blend is better suited... and some linen ravels .. and ravels! I ended up stay stitching my strips.

Quilt police don't recommend it but it is your quilt. Use what ever you want to use but wash all fabrics before if mixing. This does show up if they will wash evenly and what wrinkling and ironing problems.

you can use any fabric you want IN YOUR QUILT! it is best to choose fabrics that can all be (cared for) the same...but some of us mix, regular cottons, flannels, wools, silks, linens, corduroy, denim, velvet, t-shirt knits....all in the same quilt---with great success!
pre-wash, stablize flimsy/slippery/stretchy fabrics, secure fraying edges (by zigzaging or stay-stitching) and do what you want :thumbup:

I have a newbie horror story..when I started quilting I made a beautiful sunflower dresden quilt..one of the 'blades' was a linen....needless to say every time I washed the linen frayed more and more,so now I have to replace each linen blade before I use the quilt again!

Maybe if the linen was a cotton-linen blend it wouldn't fray so much....?

Thanks, Everybody! This is really helpful. I have decided to use my beautiful 6-yard piece of linen for the quilt back! I'm going to play it safe for a while! :)

I have a family quilt that The Textile Museum at Colonial Williamsburg dated as ca. 1780 or before. It was made of linen that is from flax grown, spun, and woven on the plantation in Hanover County, Virginia, and it is combined with cotton chintz fabrics.

I don't know if this quilt was ever washed, I certainly did not do so when it came into my care when it was already more than 200 years old in 1989. The chintz is 'rusting' in many places from the iron mordant 'set' for the dyes, but the linen is in great shape.

It is my intention to remake this quilt "someday and I'll be using linen and cotton to do so.

Jan in VA