thank you for your replies... yes grandma is gone so the quilt is sentimental. Won't even let the kids use it for TV any more
He wanted flannel that looked as close to what his grandma used as we could find.
I would definitely pre-shrink the new flannel several times to get the weave as tight as it can go.
do you mean just normal wash? or should I use a technique that will make this happen better? The quilt is 80" x 80" and my flannel is 105" x 105" so I am not too concerned about shrinkage