QBJ, thanks for the reminder about the shrinkage factor. (
Yes, you must pre-wash!) Some fabrics definitely shrink more than others but all will shrink. It's the nature of cotton. Ideally, buy a bit more fabric than you think you'll need for the Booms to account for shrinkage. If you are using fat quarters, they must also be pre-washed but it must be done carefully. I'd use a sink and a gentle swishing motion and then hang dry. However, once dried and selvages removed, you may not be able to get 2 full 18x10 inch pieces from it.
Everyone, once your fabrics are washed and dried, be sure to
press them (not iron!) and
remove the selvages -the whole selvage, not just a sliver -
before cutting. I'd prefer fabrics come in at 18x11 but the absolute smallest acceptable piece is 18x10. Yes, that one inch does make a difference. Please be sure to
cut on the straight of grain or your 18x11 inch piece may not be fully usable if it's cut off-grain. There can be a lot of waste. Last round I had a number of people say the pieces they got were way off grain so please slow down and be careful.
Thank you!
Originally Posted by
Queenbarbiej
Hi boomer's! I don' know if many of you know this or not. I found that after I washed a 1 yard cut of fabric it shrunk about 1/2inch. If you cut 3 - 11" x WOF you can have 6 - 18" x 11" pieces. I learned after I had accidently cut strips at 11" instead of 18" x WOF. I hope this some of you. I wish I'd known that before I started cutting my fabrics.