evelyn5269

I don't prewash quilt fabric as I want some shrinkage, I like the look after the quilt is washed but when I use those same scraps for a table runner etc then they are to small to prewash and the runners come out wrinkled and puckered sometimes and so crisp and beautiful before washing. Any advice. Should I just spritz with a squirt bottle with water and dry. They would ravel down to nothing if I tried to wash 4 or 5 inch squares.

PaperPrincess

I wash them in the sink (well, swish them in hot water & a squirt of laundry detergent), put them in a salad spinner & then lay them out on the counter to dry over night. You can also dampen and iron with a hot iron. I don't think spritzing & drying will do much.
Be sure to pre wash your cotton batting, or use polyester as that will also shrink!

linda8450

It might be the batting that is shrinking so much! Small pieces don't have much wiggle room to shrink if they are quilted down, so perhaps trying a polyester batting would solve the problem. Close quilting on cotton batting would help as well. Not just stitch in the ditch around 5" pieces, but all over quilting.

bearisgray

Wash small pieces like this.

Think thong underwear - bikini swimsuits -

I really do not understand the "big deal" about washing small pieces by hand and air drying them.

ManiacQuilter2

I usually just steam press my fabric and the fabric actually shrinks a bit. Not enough time in life to pre-wash all my fabrics (I live in an apt complex) especially since I work a lot with small scraps from a major fabric manufacturer's discards.

Jeanne S

I suspect it is the shrinking of the batting. Most cotton battings will shrink 3-5%. So for table runners and placemats I presoak my cotton batting in hot water and dry it before assembly. I have also used low loft polyester batting in these projects with good results and no shrinkage. I will also presoak (not wash in the washer)the fabrics in warm water in the sink and lay flat to dry to avoid fraying. With both fabric and batting preshrunk they stay flat after washings.

evelyn5269

thank you all so much. I do have some polyester batting I rarely use but will next time. I thought that if I gifted a table runner and someone put a hot casserole dish on it that the polyester would melt but I will certainly try it.

NJ Quilter

This is exactly what I was thinking. Poly batting might be the answer for your tablerunners.