Originally Posted by
imnywoman
Wow, what an interesting post. I know I learned a lot from it. Now I am worried about the quilts I made for my grandchildren. They were made with 100% cotton and though they were quilted closely, the kids were diagnosed with allergies. Now, their quilts are getting washed weekly, hot water, on an allergen/sterilize cycle (the new front loaders). I hope the tumbling rather than agitating is kinder to them.
I have made some quilts for "Quilts for Kids" and they get washed all the time in hot commercial washers at the hospitals to remain clean and sanitary for the sick children. They require cotton batting, lots of quilting, and a machine applied binding (no hand stitching). The quilts made to their specifications are sturdy and handle the stress just fine, I think the key is to quilt closely. I keep the W&N batt I use at 2-4 inches apart. I know they say you can go wider, but I want mine to stay very stable with lots of washing.
I do think heirloom quilts may need to be handled differently, but I want my quilts to be used and washed.
pam