Thread: Thoughts on using poly/cotton or polyester for quilting projects.

What great replys. Thank you all.

Originally Posted by ckcowl

The cotton/poly blends are great for kids drag around quilts. They hold up to lots of ( abuse) forts, picnics, sleep overs, car trips. Take a beating, lots of laundering, don't fade, are terrific. If you want to make utility quilts that will be used, laundered, loved for a long time polyester and poly/cotton blends are the way to go. My kids, 39 & 36 yr.olds, still have the polyester quilts my grandmother made them in 1980, the colors are still vibrant, those quilts went camping, picnics, built hundreds of forts, spent lots of time on floors, ground. The blends will not make soft, wrinkle, fade with time, cotton quilts, but they will make good utility, use a lot quilts.

I so agree with you and am a bit disappointed at quilters attitude in general to poly/cottons, I am a coordinator for Project Linus and use poly/cotton bedding for the backings as often as I can get hold of them, as you say they are great for the "abuse" that kiddiewinks do enjoying their quilts, also I have been lucky getting from Charity shops bedding with lovely kiddiewink friendly designs, like Batman, Spiderman etc. I have never had any problems in quilting them and I know they will stand up to all the laundering they have to receive.

I use Dream Queen poly batting mainly because cotton anything shrinks. If you pre-wash all fabric, AND batting it is great. I pre-wash to shrink my fabric, then use the Dream Queen poly batting because it won't shrink. I don't wash my quilt when finished because the fabric is all pre-washed, no smoke, no pets, and my quilt never lays on the floor because I quilt as you go. I will add some additional information while I am at it -- it is the pounding in the dryer that shrinks cotton, not the hot water in the washing machine. Learned this from sheep farmers where I used to live.

I have also used cotton/poly blends in quilts and they worked great and are still going strong. Never used 100% poly though so can't vouch for that.

I mistly use 100% cotton but I have used poly/ cotton with no problems. Sometimes fabric colour is more important to me then content.

I've been working with some donated poly/cotton lately and did not encounter any of the problems that have been posted. Kept my iron on a low enough setting.... pinned my sandwiches about every 4" ... the tops were poly cotton scrap pieces that had been donated.... then I pieced my batting with warm and natural cotton scraps.... then I used polyester fleece chunks that I had salvaged from previous backings...pieced them together.... Jamie Wallen Basic Swirl care quilt

PS... usually I use 100% quilt shop quality fabrics in my quilts but that doesn't mean that you can't use whats available or affordable if you don't have those

Using poly cotton in a quilt that will be used a lot is an invitation to trouble. The poly cuts the cotton the the quilt wear out really fast. Before I knew what I was doing I made a quilt with poly cotton, all the fabric was from the same line and at seam lines it rubbed holes in the quilt. For a wall hanging maybe.