Am I the only person in the world that has fabric that shrinks?
11-04-2010, 05:02 AM
#51
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Originally Posted by garysgal
Originally Posted by AnnaK
Originally Posted by Favorite Fabrics
Originally Posted by AnnaK
Originally Posted by May in Jersey
Wonder if I wash my body in very hot water and then dry it in a dryer will I shrink a few inches? If I could find a stand up dryer I'd try it, LOL! May in Jersey
And I'm a little worried about the "crinkly look"...
L O L ! !
:-(
11-04-2010, 10:50 AM
#52
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Originally Posted by Prism99
Washing before quilting and washing after quilting makes a difference in shrinkage. If fabric is closely quilted to a batt, the amount of shrinkage will be determined by the batting instead of the fabric.
Harriet Hargrave made a quilt to prove this. She used unwashed *flannel* in a quilt, then machine quilted it and washed it. The flannel did not shrink as I would have expected; she had used a batting with max 3% shrinkage (I think it was Hobbs 80/20).
Fabric shrinkage will be much more noticeable in quilts that are tied or do not have quilting lines close together.
I do not prewash fabrics and use Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon 100% cotton batting, which is a very traditional batting. My quilts come out looking like antique quilts -- evenly crinkled because the batting shrinks, but not distorted by uneven or excessive fabric shrinkage.
I'm thinking that the true test of fabric shrinkage in a quilt is washing after quilting rather than before quilting.
Harriet Hargrave made a quilt to prove this. She used unwashed *flannel* in a quilt, then machine quilted it and washed it. The flannel did not shrink as I would have expected; she had used a batting with max 3% shrinkage (I think it was Hobbs 80/20).
Fabric shrinkage will be much more noticeable in quilts that are tied or do not have quilting lines close together.
I do not prewash fabrics and use Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon 100% cotton batting, which is a very traditional batting. My quilts come out looking like antique quilts -- evenly crinkled because the batting shrinks, but not distorted by uneven or excessive fabric shrinkage.
I'm thinking that the true test of fabric shrinkage in a quilt is washing after quilting rather than before quilting.
11-04-2010, 05:41 PM
#53
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Originally Posted by May in Jersey
Wonder if I wash my body in very hot water and then dry it in a dryer will I shrink a few inches? If I could find a stand up dryer I'd try it, LOL! May in Jersey
11-04-2010, 07:36 PM
#54
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Location: mesa and payson, arizona
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I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO DID THIS. I USE LIQUID STARCH AND DO THE WHOLE PIECE AT ONCE AND HANG TO DRY. IT SURE MAKES CUTTING AND PIECING EASIER. IF I'M DOING SOMETHING WITH BIAS CUTS I MIX THE STARCH SO ITS A LITTLE STIFFER. IF I WERE A TEACHER THAT WOULD BE MY FIRST LESSON. I THINK A LOT OF FIRST TIMERS GET DISCOURAGED WHEN THEIR BIAS CUTS STRETCH AND THE FABRIC SLIPS WHEN THEY ARE CUTTING OR SEAMING. IRONING TWO STRIPS TOGETHER WHEN THEY ARE STARCHED ALSO ACTS LIKE A LIGHT GLUE HOLDING THE LAYERS TOGETHER. THE ONLY THING I DI DIFFERENT FROM YOU IS I WASH IN COLD WATER AND DRY ON MEDIUM.
11-04-2010, 07:58 PM
#55
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Originally Posted by Sandra-P
I never used to pre wash my fabric until one time when I made placemats and some of the strips didnt shrink and some did. What a disaster. Now I wash before I use it in hopes that I dont have anything like that happen.
11-04-2010, 10:38 PM
#56
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Originally Posted by Favorite Fabrics
Originally Posted by AnnaK
Originally Posted by May in Jersey
Wonder if I wash my body in very hot water and then dry it in a dryer will I shrink a few inches? If I could find a stand up dryer I'd try it, LOL! May in Jersey
And I'm a little worried about the "crinkly look"...
:-D :-D :-D
11-05-2010, 06:23 AM
#59
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Originally Posted by bearisgray
Just wondering -
Do any of you non-washers measure your finished item before and after washing it a couple of times?
If you haven't, how can you KNOW for sure whether it changed shape or not?
Do any of you non-washers measure your finished item before and after washing it a couple of times?
If you haven't, how can you KNOW for sure whether it changed shape or not?
11-05-2010, 06:33 AM
#60
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Originally Posted by Scissor Queen
Originally Posted by bearisgray
Just wondering -
Do any of you non-washers measure your finished item before and after washing it a couple of times?
If you haven't, how can you KNOW for sure whether it changed shape or not?
Do any of you non-washers measure your finished item before and after washing it a couple of times?
If you haven't, how can you KNOW for sure whether it changed shape or not?
There also seems to be quite a bit of leeway in what is considered acceptable "change" in a washed item that would not be acceptable in a purchased garment.
That wasn't the point or intent of the question -
When someone says "it doesn't matter to me" - that is one thing -
I worked with engineers for a while - and the tolerances in their work was relatively crude (plus or minus 0.005 inch) and I absorbed some of their way of thinking. I also learned that "offness" could be cumulative.
I realize that quiltmaking will always be an "approximate" process - the question is how much "approximateness" is tolerable to each maker.
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