Originally Posted by
nycquilter
alternate opinion alert. I *know* I *should* prewash flannel. I don't. I don't prewash anything. I just washed a quilt that was flannel on the back and it came out fine. No bleeding, no excessive shrinkage. And you can mix fabrics, most just don't. And mixing on the top is as okay as using a different fabric/fiber on teh back. Do what you like. That's the point of this hobby/avocation/passion. at least, IMHO
It's true that flannel can be fine without pre-washing as long as there is moderate quilting in the quilt. Quilting ties the layers together so that the batting controls the amount of shrinkage in a quilt. Most people do not realize that fabric can shrink differently when washed on its own versus washing in a well-quilted quilt. Distortion from different shrinkage rates of fabric can be a huge problem, however, if the quilting is far apart or if the quilt is tied.