Minkee
#1
I'm thinking of using minkee as a backing on a quilt. I am puzzled, though. The minkee I have found is 100% polyester and my quilt top is 100% cotton (pre-washed and ironed before cutting and sewing). I have never used anything other than cotton for quilting and am wondering if there is anything special required before putting this together. Any comments and/or ideas will be so greatly welcome!
#3
I've not sewed with minkie fabric, but I've read on this board posts from others that it's very stretchy, ravels badly, and crawls around when you're trying to sew it. It seems it would be hard to work with on a very big project. Might be ok if you zigzag the edges and spray basted it like crazy. Let us know how it goes!
#4
I backed a baby quilt with it - well I had to unpick the first effort as I did not stretch it out enough when I was sandwiching it. That was not fun. You really need to pull it very tight in every direction it stretches in. The only quilting that was suitable was SID, I would not have tried anything else.
This is the quilt I made with it - flannel on one side, border of minkee and backed with minkee.
This is the quilt I made with it - flannel on one side, border of minkee and backed with minkee.
#7
Thanks everyone. I think the answer for me is pretty clear. Although it is very cute, I prefer my quilting to be relaxing and using minkee just doesn't sound like the right fabric for me. Thanks again for all your input!
#8
Power Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 12,861
my family (and its a big one) love their quilts backed with minkee, it is so amazingly soft.
the cut edges(shed) , so take it outside and give it a good shake. then spread it out smooth; spray with basting spray, let sit to get tacky; smooth batting over it (if you are using batting, i do, some people don't) spray with basting spray; then smooth top over batting. pin or baste all the way around the edges, then quilt as desired. it is actually quite nice to quilt (at least i found it to be) works well on the long arm...it is slippery so you need the basting spray and basting or pinning if you are doing it on a regular sewing machine. i have backed 9 quilts with minkee, have had no problems with laundering or any thing else, and they all have regular cotton or flannel tops. and i toss them in the washer and into the dryer (if they are big...mine is king, they go to the laundrymat)
my mariners compass quilt (batik) has a wonderful curly minkee backing! it is FABULOUS and has been washed quite a few times in the past 5 years. there have been no problems from washing (and i do throw it in the dryer too)
the cut edges(shed) , so take it outside and give it a good shake. then spread it out smooth; spray with basting spray, let sit to get tacky; smooth batting over it (if you are using batting, i do, some people don't) spray with basting spray; then smooth top over batting. pin or baste all the way around the edges, then quilt as desired. it is actually quite nice to quilt (at least i found it to be) works well on the long arm...it is slippery so you need the basting spray and basting or pinning if you are doing it on a regular sewing machine. i have backed 9 quilts with minkee, have had no problems with laundering or any thing else, and they all have regular cotton or flannel tops. and i toss them in the washer and into the dryer (if they are big...mine is king, they go to the laundrymat)
my mariners compass quilt (batik) has a wonderful curly minkee backing! it is FABULOUS and has been washed quite a few times in the past 5 years. there have been no problems from washing (and i do throw it in the dryer too)
#10
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Ephrata, WA
Posts: 8,802
I actually use minky all of the time ( my kids no longer will take a quilt without minkee on the back!) I only quilt on a long arm..so it stretches it pretty evenly and tightly...so that is probably why it is not a problem for me...however if you sew it on your machine you have to spray baste it pretty well....
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