So today I bought flannel for 8 lap size quilts for 8 grandchildren - from Joann Fabrics. At $1.99 per yard, I could not resist. I know the quality is not the best, (and really varies between fabrics) but I could not resist the price. I plan to

-Serge the cut edges before I wash the fabric
-Starch the fabric before I cut it out

Any other hints?

4 quilts will be the disappearing nine patch, the other 4 will be Warm Wishes.

I don't expect these to be heirloom quilts. Just quilts to cuddle with while watching TV or reading a book. Grandkids range in age from 6 months to 6.5 years.

These will be Christmas gifts, so I have some time to get them done.

I hope I didn't make a mistake buying this fabric!!

I used Joannes flannel to make two rag quilts for my dgd's, they turned out really well. Flannel is very forgiving. No regrets

The flannel aisles were B-U-S-Y today. I helped another customer pick out fabric for rag quilts. So much fun. (I will NOT share how many hours I spent at the store today)

I use the JoAnn's "snuggle flannel" for baby quilts all the time. They won't last a millenium, but they are great for the grandbabies :) And I've used some of the thicker ones for charity quilts, too. They are just fine IMHO

I bought and used some Joanne's flannel that is on sale for 2.50 a yard...I washed it...thank goodness...it does shrink...but it should be fine...will find out in a few months...fingers crossed - I made two more gifts with it. here is the Warm Wishes Pattern if anyone is interested. http://www.ashevillequiltguild.org/A...or%20Linus.pdf

The Fons & Porter program this morning featured a flannel quilt. She hand quilted the quilt with a heavier thread and did it in "folk" style - long stitches and less stitches per inch. She also suggested using a longer Machine stitch (3 instead of 2 or 2.5) so you don't get puckers when sewing it together because the fabric is a much looser weave than traditional cotton quilting fabric.

oh yeah, I do that too ~ longer stitch length, I actually use a 3 or 3.5, it lays so much nicer for the topstitching! But I use no longer than 3 for the piecing.

Thanks for passing along the pattern.

To cut down on the serging time, you can serge an end of one fabric to the beginning of another. I saw this tip from a published quilter who says she pre-washes all her fabric this way.

I bought flannel from JoAnn's and made pj's for my granddaughter in December. 2 of the 4 pair of pj's have pilled quite a bit. Bought some at the store and some online. I hesitate to even mention this pilling because pj's get washed at least once a week whereas the little quilts won't. I bought some Joe Boxer flannel pj's for myself this year at Kmart on sale after Christmas for $9.99. They are not pilling. I flirted with the thought of buying the pj's and using the flannel. If I bought the largest size they sell (3X) I would probably have a good amount of flannel for the price. Just a thought. Gerry