I've made lots of them, but always used flannel, some cotton on one side, flannel on the other, but never with no flannel. So, in my trial & error, they do fray a lot, shed a lot, I always put binding on mine, just my preference. I also recommend taking to laundromat for initial wash, you will have to shake the you know what out of it! Then when drying, clean lint trap very often! The cheaper flannel will pill, I've used the clothes shaver on them, or the lint roller, drag lint roller towards you, works better than just rolling side to side!