Originally Posted by Loretta
How does the crinkly look really work- do you leave the fabric unwashed too? Can you use any pattern? How should it be quilted? I just saw an entire quilt shop with this crinkly look and it was so interesting- everything looked old and historical! I thought they were antiques.
Any pattern. You can prewash your fabric or not, as you wish. (I don't prewash my fabric.) It can be hand or machine quilted. For hand quilting, though, there are easier 100% cotton battings to get a needle through -- such as Quilter's Dream or Fairfield (but this batting needs to be prewashed before hand quilting to remove sizing that can make hand needline difficult). The crinkly effect comes with the first washing of the quilt. The batting shrinks maybe 3%, and that's what gives the soft crinkly look (same as antique quilts).