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    Old 05-15-2016, 05:13 AM
      #11  
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    Bree123, I'm saving your response. It looks like you covered it all. Thank you!
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    Old 05-15-2016, 07:04 AM
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    There are muslin lovers and muslin haters. I like muslin for the traditional value alone. But there are some really cheap muslins out there that aren't worth purchasing. As long as you are careful and purchase quality muslin, you shouldn't have a problem. Although I have heard not to ever use it for binding. It just doesn't last very well. Haven't tried it.
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    Old 05-15-2016, 07:29 AM
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    I love premium legacy muslin from Joanns washes up nice. I use it all the time for my embroidery that I put into a quilt
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    Old 05-15-2016, 07:32 AM
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    Originally Posted by toverly
    There are muslin lovers and muslin haters. I like muslin for the traditional value alone. But there are some really cheap muslins out there that aren't worth purchasing. As long as you are careful and purchase quality muslin, you shouldn't have a problem. Although I have heard not to ever use it for binding. It just doesn't last very well. Haven't tried it.
    I have a quilt that is 18 years old bound in muslin and it is just fine. The piecing has held up well and is just starting to have small holes and it has been washed a ton. used in college and now my baby uses it on her bed so quality muslin is just fine. I think as long as you don't use cheap stuff
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    Old 05-15-2016, 08:03 AM
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    You shouldn't use muslin because it has a very open weave and I unstable stretch. It is used to wrap cheese in or to drip curds and whey. I cotton for quilting requires a closer weave and mor stability. Think about a sheet should feel similiar to that.
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    Old 05-15-2016, 08:19 AM
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    Totally agree!! If I was ever to buy a bolt of any fabric it would be Kona premium muslin! It is the background of 90% of my quilts and the backing for 99%! I use Quilters Dream Orient in all my quilts and the combination is wonderful!


    Originally Posted by Bree123
    Who says not to use muslin? I especially love it for baby/kids quilts because muslin is very breathable & certain muslin fabrics are quite soft once laundered -- and get softer with every wash. I am working on a really lovely quilt (Calico Garden) with Aged Muslin in Beige by Marcus Fabrics for the background. Kona muslins are the same 140 thread count as their standard Kona cotton (and, if you love "painting", their PFD muslin takes ink really well!). I've also bought lovely dyed muslin from James Thompson & Co and Moda. If you look for the same qualities in muslin that you do in quilter's cotton, there's no reason why you can't use it exactly the same way.

    It needles really well & gives a lovely traditional/vintage look to my quilts. I have never had any issues working with quality muslin. It comes in very few colors but the nice thing is that I can usually buy it at my LQS in 90 or 108"W. I've also read that it's best to steam muslin rather than press it because you can get permanent shiny spots on your muslin from pressing. I've not had that happen personally except when working with muslin that I've inked with fabric medium and tried pressing through a pressing cloth when my steamer broke (and that could've been due to the fabric medium -- idk). I've ironed/pressed all my other muslin fabric with no issue.

    The two brands of "quality" muslin I avoid are Colonial & American Made. Colonial seems to fray more than the alternatives. The weave on American Made is a lot looser than Kona muslin making it more prone to bearding (I use W&P, which doesn't have a scrim -- so if I'm not careful, it beards quite easily). If you're going to use American Made muslin, I'd recommend quilting with either a 40wt or a 28wt thread and either an 80/12 or 90/14 Quilting Needle so that the spaces between the weave are filled in enough to prevent bearding -- & strongly consider either a bonded batting or one with a scrim.

    In addition, there are 2 types of muslin that I would caution you against using. The first is actual vintage muslin (like what you find on eBay or at an estate sale). Vintage muslin typically was a much looser weave. The fibers used in the weaving were also much coarser than those in vintage quilter's cotton (or in very rare cases, high quality muslin was much, much finer & more fragile than quilter's cotton). It produces a quilt with a rougher feel & that is more prone to fraying and caught threads during the quilting and laundering processes. The second problem muslin is dressmakers muslin that you find at sewing stores like Vogue Fabrics, Mood Fabrics or big box stores like JAF, HL or some of the muslin at Hancock's. They are great for making dress forms & I've even used the thinner ones for backing damaged vintage fabrics (fused with Pellon 805) before I could use them in a quilt, back when I took commissioned work. But they really don't make for very soft or sturdy fabric either on the quilt top or the backing of a bed quilt. The cheapy muslins at JAF are still great for backing a wall quilt where roughness doesn't matter & they aren't laundered nearly as often.

    But with a little bit of care & common sense, I think you will find that muslin fabrics may soon become you absolute favorite fabrics to work with.

    Last edited by Kitsie; 05-15-2016 at 08:22 AM.
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    Old 05-15-2016, 08:29 AM
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    The 118" is just under $9.00 / yd and does Fabric.com always have the special at 3 or more yds for $3.14/yd for that size!!??? Phenomenal!!


    Originally Posted by slbram17
    Thought you might want to check out Fabric.com for their Kona muslin. $6 a yard or so if you buy three yards. https://www.fabric.com/buy/es-172/ko...bleached-white
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    Old 05-15-2016, 08:55 AM
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    Wait, the $6 price is a tag sale price.

    Originally Posted by Kitsie
    The 118" is just under $9.00 / yd and does Fabric.com always have the special at 3 or more yds for $3.14/yd for that size!!??? Phenomenal!!
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    Old 05-15-2016, 09:06 AM
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    Originally Posted by DOTTYMO
    You shouldn't use muslin because it has a very open weave and I unstable stretch. It is used to wrap cheese in or to drip curds and whey. I cotton for quilting requires a closer weave and mor stability. Think about a sheet should feel similiar to that.
    I think you are thinking of cheese cloth. A very different thing.
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    Old 05-15-2016, 09:28 AM
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    No Kitsie - that is not the usual for Fabric.com .. they are having a yardage sale. I think it ends today or tomorrow... I have been fighting the urge to buy so much fabric because of this sale.
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