Difference between line drying and machine drying quilt
 

I have always line dried my quilts (hang them outside on the clothesline). I'm finishing one today to gift to someone. It has poly batting, the label says something about shrinkage. If I machine dry it, will it look different than if I line dry it?

Thanks.

I rarely put a quilt in with heat in a dryer so I would just put the setting on the lowest and let it air fluff. Poly batting seldom shrink as least that is what I thought.

Thanks Maniac. If I had to choose between an air fluff in the dryer and using my outdoor clothesline (with no difference in how my quilt comes out) I'll take the clotheseline any day!

I wish i had a place to hang things outside !!!.....but my back yard just doesn't really work....and i think the front yard would be a little strange.
That aside...i confess that i machine wash and machine dry all the quilts i make....i figure the recipient will do the same - so few people hang laundry any more.... that i want to make sure everything about the quilt is behaving as it ought.
PS...i don't think 100% poly batting shrinks.

If you add a few fans, they dry pretty fast on the floor. Plus, there's the added bonus of dusting the room for you - LOL!

hugs,
Charlotte

This is what I do too. The recipients of my quilts are not going to do anything special with them, regardless of instructions included, so I wash them like they would, with no special care. So far so good. I use cotton batting and they do crinkle up a bit, but I like that look.

if this is a quilt made to be used for everyday -
if I had a large enough dryer, I would dry it in a dryer instead of line drying -
because I feel that line drying causes more stress to some of the fibers.

I don't have a lot of choice. I have no clothesline anymore and not enough floor space. No other choice but to use the dryer. My grandmother had 3 lines just close enough she would place them securely on top by pinning them with small c clamps or safety pins. They dried really quickly. Living in the Midwest she planned her laundry days around the weather.

I air dry my quilts by either hanging them outside or just simply putting them on top of a bed and then flipping it over once every 12 hours or so to allow even drying. I don't use the dryer for my quilts.

if it is a gift they will probably use a washer and dryer. Better to know now if there will be a problem.

I live in a condo and my patio is big, yet there's no room to hange things, so i dry in the dryer on light fluff (air dry).

I machine dry all of my baby quilts because I know that is what the mother is going to do. I also tell them to machine wash on cool or cold and dry in a low dryer. So far all my quilts have lasted.
My larger quilts I do mostly the same thing, but I will usually take them out and hang them over a drying rack (one of the wooden fold up type) but that is because I get tired of taking it out and re-positioning it in the dryer. But I start in the dryer to remove a lot of the weight from the water.

Yes, machine drying is different in that it is the POUNDING that shrinks fabric. I learned this from sheep farmers who make their own yarn. Same for cotton though. This is why I always wash my fabric first. Pre-shrink. Then I use Dream Queen poly that doesn't shrink for batting. When in the future it is laundered, there won't be differing parts shrinking at different percentages.

This may not be true at all, but in the past I have read that it is not good to hang up wet quilts as the weight of it causes lots of stress on the seams and stitching. But I don't have an outdoor clothes line any more so don't know if there is any validity to this or not.

yep, it will. I sent my Sister one i line dried. Was wrinkled like mad. I should have tossed it into the dryer a bit.

I put mine in the dryer, but they still come out with damp areas, so then I drape it over a bedroom door to finish drying.

When I have had to wash some of my antique quilts I hand washed them in the bath tub, blotted out some of the excess water and then laid them on a sheet on top of the grass. Then covered with another sheet in case of bird droppings. Obviously, have to wait for a "perfect weather" day. I like a little wind and don't place them in direct sun. So because the quilt has not been compressed and wrinkled in the washing machine, it is not wrinkled after it is dry. Now that I am making quilts, I prewash most fabric, then machine wash and dry when completed. Because I plan that they will be used, I want to know that they will stand up to washing and drying, check for loose seams, etc.

As far as line drying, I do have a clothes line and enjoy hanging out some items. I grew up hanging clothes outside. The reality is though, that most machine washed item will dry more stiffly and wrinkly than they will in a dryer.

I wash bed quilts with 2 color catchers and then put them into the dryer until almost dry. So far, I've I have not had any problems. I figure that the recepient is going to throw them in the washer anyway so I want to test them out. I don't wash any wallhangings.

I agree, I doubt 10% of the people in the USA line dry any more.

Even if I had a clothesline (which I desperately miss) I would use my dryer for quilts. We have an abundance of redbirds, jays, grackles, sparrows, etc., and I would not be willing to risk my quilt to one of their flyovers. froggyintexas

I wash my quilts just like any other blanket..I have line dry..also machine dry..in my opinion...once they have been wash..the batting will dry however it is going to..the quilts on the line dry less fluffy looking..because the weight pulls then ..so the batting is stretched out again..either way works..it is just what look u prefer...

I dry my quilts on the wash line. But I hang the quilt over three or four lines. That way there is very little pressure from the hanging.

I would never want to live in a place that did not have a garden and a clothes line.

One more option if you are lucky enough to have a balcony, machine dry a bit, then hang on balcony to finish drying. I usually put a white sheet over the balony first so there is no issue with wood stain. It could be an indoor or outdoor balcony.

I bet you don't have dogs.:eek: If I were to lay a quilt on the floor to finish drying, I'd have all 4 dogs "helping" to hold it down. :D I dry my quilts in the dryer, no fur kids helping.

I machine dry all my quilts, and I have no issues with it.

When I give a quilt gift, I find that assuring the recipient that the quilt is machine wash and dry is a huge relief to them, and probably contributes to them using it as opposed to storing it away.

I agree with PenniF. If it is a quilt that will be used everyday by the recipient, then put it in the machine and dryer. If is a hand appliqued Baltimore album then it should get special treatment. In other words, consider the production and use.

I have a 100' clothesline and use it more than my dryer. For my quilts, I only put them on the line. My clotheslines are parallel to each other so I hang one side of the quilt on one line then lift the other end and hang it up, creating a sort of hammock with the quilt! Less stress on the fibers and it doesn't flop or wrap around the line in the breeze!

Froggy, I'm especially careful about this problem when the blueberries or cherry trees are in bloom! I have been hit with some pretty colorful fly-overs!!

I had learned this somewhere, somehow, that quilts are to lay flat and in the yard if possible. Put sheets on the bottom and lay one atop to prevent unwanted deposits. Don't know about hanging, owing to the weight and stress on the edge, does this cause distortion? However, since my quilts are used and not heirloom quality, I wash on a gentle cycle and put in the dryer on low. I also use a gentle detergent.

10% ers...
 

In our area, many communities will not allow outside clothes lines..We can where we live thank goodness...still a single line is too hard on a quilt IMHO.

Do you put something under to absorb the moisture? I would think the bed would keep it damp.

Almost all of my quilts have poly batting and never shrink. I dry all of them in the dryer on low or the sensi-dry setting. Most people if not all will dry in the dryer at whatever setting. They will probably wash them way too often also.
Outside birds like to fly over and leave droppings on clothes or whatever. I only dry throw rugs over the fence in the backyard.

Something to be aware of when line drying is allergies, especially this time of the year with all the pollen.

I dry mine in the dryer in the winter all the time. The only differnce I've come across is line dried they smell so fresh and dried in the dryer they are fluffier.