Originally Posted by DoxieMom

Pati,
That's very good information to know. I learned to sew before permanent press and non-wrinkle finishes for yard goods. Since I've started quilting, I've been wondering if I should be trying to straighten the grain like I used to when sewing clothes years ago. I'm gathering from what you wrote that after the fabric is washed and pressed I should just consider the grain/s to be parallel to and at 90 degrees to the selvedges.


Not necessarily. But what I am saying is that whatever the angle of the grain is, that is what it will return to. If you are lucky it is at a 90° angle to the selvedge, but it may not be.
But our ancestors didn't really worry about grain line in small pieces. And if you look closely at some of the beautiful antique quilts that are considered treasures, a lot of the pieces are not cut on grain. Our foremothers used what they had, every bit of it. <G>

I also learned to sew in the days of finding the straight of grain and making sure that grains were perpendicular. But things do change. (I also learned directional sewing, and a lot of different things that are now considered to be inaccurate..... they worked for the fabrics and tools of the time. <G>)

Pati, in Phx