Can I wash my quilt top?
06-13-2011, 10:29 PM
#21
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: La Grande, OR
Posts: 2,457
Originally Posted by quiltpassion
I bought a quilt kit to make a child's quilt approximately 60" X 45". In the kit was a panel & various shapes & sizes of corresponding fabric. I made the mistake of NOT washing the fabric first!
Anyway, while piecing, I noticed there was a variation of the type of fabric included. Some pieces were of a lower quality with lesser thread count. I am afraid of what it will look like (shrinkage) if I machine quilt then wash afterward. Plus I am now putting fray check on all the seams due to much raveling!
Can I wash the quilt top on a hand wash setting in the washer in hot water with Retayne for 20 minutes or a warm water with the shout color catcher for less time? Would you help me on this before I really make a BIG boo boo?
Patti
Anyway, while piecing, I noticed there was a variation of the type of fabric included. Some pieces were of a lower quality with lesser thread count. I am afraid of what it will look like (shrinkage) if I machine quilt then wash afterward. Plus I am now putting fray check on all the seams due to much raveling!
Can I wash the quilt top on a hand wash setting in the washer in hot water with Retayne for 20 minutes or a warm water with the shout color catcher for less time? Would you help me on this before I really make a BIG boo boo?
Patti
06-14-2011, 06:57 AM
#22
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Amherst Ohio
Posts: 50
Originally Posted by TonnieLoree
Originally Posted by quiltpassion
I bought a quilt kit to make a child's quilt approximately 60" X 45". In the kit was a panel & various shapes & sizes of corresponding fabric. I made the mistake of NOT washing the fabric first!
Anyway, while piecing, I noticed there was a variation of the type of fabric included. Some pieces were of a lower quality with lesser thread count. I am afraid of what it will look like (shrinkage) if I machine quilt then wash afterward. Plus I am now putting fray check on all the seams due to much raveling!
Can I wash the quilt top on a hand wash setting in the washer in hot water with Retayne for 20 minutes or a warm water with the shout color catcher for less time? Would you help me on this before I really make a BIG boo boo?
Patti
Anyway, while piecing, I noticed there was a variation of the type of fabric included. Some pieces were of a lower quality with lesser thread count. I am afraid of what it will look like (shrinkage) if I machine quilt then wash afterward. Plus I am now putting fray check on all the seams due to much raveling!
Can I wash the quilt top on a hand wash setting in the washer in hot water with Retayne for 20 minutes or a warm water with the shout color catcher for less time? Would you help me on this before I really make a BIG boo boo?
Patti
06-14-2011, 07:17 AM
#23
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,812
I agree! Wash after the quilting is done. You either wash the fabric before you start cutting it or you wash after the quilt is completed. You really don't want to mess with it before all layers are quilted. Not only will ironing be a mess, but the seams can pucker and edges fray. Not necessary to do a complete wash. I never do. I put the quilt in with the rinse cycle only and add a small amount of fabric softener.
06-14-2011, 09:02 AM
#24
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Jasper, Georgia
Posts: 825
Originally Posted by MTS
STEP AWAY FROM THE MACHINE.
PUT THE QUILT DOWN.
Do not wash a quilt top before it's quilted.
It's not that it will all fall apart, but it will be a mess to iron again, as the seam allowances are all over the place, and frayed.
The fact that you think some fabrics might shrink at a different rate than others won't be solved. They'll shrink, but wouldn't be stabilized by anything.
Actually, you'll have more control over the shrinking if it's washed after it's quilted.
PUT THE QUILT DOWN.
Do not wash a quilt top before it's quilted.
It's not that it will all fall apart, but it will be a mess to iron again, as the seam allowances are all over the place, and frayed.
The fact that you think some fabrics might shrink at a different rate than others won't be solved. They'll shrink, but wouldn't be stabilized by anything.
Actually, you'll have more control over the shrinking if it's washed after it's quilted.
06-14-2011, 10:43 AM
#25
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 6,430
Like the others who have replied here, I do not wash my quilt tops until quilted and bound, but I will soak some pieces or fabrics in hot water to shrink them. Roll the pieces in a towel to absorb excess water and then lay flat to dry. That way, the fabric will shrink but not fray since you are not agitating it in the washer. The fabrics will be pretty flat and won't need to be ironed if you roll them carefully. Good luck.
06-14-2011, 02:53 PM
#26
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 291
If it is already raveling I wouldn't wash it until quilted and bound, then use color catchers in the wash cycle with it and pray for the best. I made a quilt over 2 years ago that I thought would give me problems because some fabric was thinner than the rest and raveled alot. It has been washed many times since then and hasn't even faded which I thought it would.
Good Luck
Suzy
Good Luck
Suzy
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