Angel Bear

I am making an I Spy quilt (cotton fabrics) for my granddaughter and am thinking about backing it with Minky fabric. I've never used Minky before. Has anyone used Minky as a backing? How much does it shrink? The top is done and I did not prewash the fabrics. Do I need to pre-wash the Minky? Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

mamagrande

I am not an expert at using Minkee but I just finished one. I quilted it twice on the long arm..once with the Minkee on the back..it stretched and puckered the top...so I took it apart, this took about a week, then reversed it and quilted the Minkee on top and the pieced cotton on the bottom and it came out just great..
This was for a grandson that was born this morning..

yngldy

Congratulations you lucky Grandma!!

Angel Bear: I made a quilt with Minky on the back. Where to start!: Minky does not shrink, at least not enough to even notice. It is slippery, so you need to pin, baste, or spray heavily, and quilt closer. I didn't and to see the quilt now makes me feel bad that I gave it to her. She says it is ok, but it looks bad to me. I used a DSM. You will be ok. Just check the back frequently so that if there is a problem, you can fix it before getting too far along. As long as you take it slow, and check as you go, you will be ok.

francie yuhas

I've used minkey a lot. I don't pre wash: it doesn't shrink. I use a lot of spray baste. I don't quilt it closely ...just relax and enjoy the process. It will be ice and snugly.

roguequilter

i have backed flannel quilts w minky, faux fur & with the minky type fabric sold by hancocks called "novelty fleece". i prewash all the minky & minkey look alikes same as i do all of my flannels & regular quilting cottons. minky as mentioned above, is stretchy & challenging to quilt. i have always thread basted my quilts including the first minky backed quilts i made for my grand daughtesrs. few years ago i tried spray basting. i didn't spray heavily as i had read & been warned that heavy spray baste can gum up your machines needle. the first quilt i did w minkey, then another, then full sized quilting cotton quilt with flannel backing ..all spray basted and quilting them on my domestic machine was like a dream. no tucks or wrinkles in the back, no bunching or gathers on the front. no strings from thread basting or pins catching on the machine foot. minky, being a knit is challenging, but doable and the results are soooo worth it! especially for a child who loves to rub their hands across the softness

Angel Bear

Thank you all for answering. I'm going to give it a try. I forgot to ask about batting. Should I use regular battering, no batting or something else? Thanks again.

Maureen NJ

Angel bear, my question to you is, what will happen when you wash it if the minke doesn't shrink and the cotton top, which hasn't been pre-washed, does. Personally, I would think you would have a mess. I have learned if not pre-washing, use cotton batting and backing so it can all shrink at a similar rate. Just my opinion. Others might disagree.

ckcowl

Minkie makes great backs for kids quilts, so soft & cozy! It is polyester and does not shrink.
When laying it out to baste be sure to Smooth it without stretching it. As you are quilting smooth don't stretch. Many of us have been backing quilts with minkie for years. ( me about 10 years-- probably 75+ quilts, my family requests it all the time)

QuiltMom2

I've used Minky a few times. No shrink, but plenty stretch (if you let it!) My favorite was a crib size, very simply pieced top with light flannel for batting. I just turned it inside out to finish the edges. The flannel helped me control the stretch but quilt was still somewhat heavy. This is balanced by the fact that it's really wearing well, has turned into the blanket of choice for control of toddler crisis situations!! The toddler has recently acquired a baby sister and my heart melted when older sister came out of her room thumb in mouth and blanket in hand.

Sandygirl

Minky and Cuddle are synthetic. They may melt but they will never shrink. They have a definate direction to the. Stretch. All of this takes into account when one works with it.

I have seen Shannon Cuddle used to bind quilts,esp. When using The. Double gauze ones. Also used to back and self bind the double gauze baby quilts.you can do applique with it. Patchwork, etc. Or, you can just pet it! So soft and dreamy!

sandy