Does Anyone Else Have This Problem?
 

Howdy y'all. ☺

I have a problem that I've never seen discussed here before. Whenever I start a new quilt and I'm in the cutting process, I have to walk away after about 20 minutes or so because I start coughing my head off and/or sneezing. It seems that every miniscule piece of fiber that is released by the cutting process heads directly for my nose and throat! No other part of the quilting process affects me like this, so I can literally work on a quilt for hours without a problem once the cutting part is finished. Does anyone else have this problem? If so, have you found anything that helps? I love working on my quilts, but it gets frustrating to have such a slow start to every quilt I make! I find myself avoiding starting a new project because I know it's going to take me days just to get it to the point where I can start sewing! Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Donna

I don't have that problem, but I am thinking that maybe a surgical mask would help? Then your mouth and nose is covered and you won't inhale all those particles.

Do you wash your fabric? I wash my fabric when I bring it in the door and have had no problems after doing that.

I would also say to wash the fabrics as they are coated with chemicals, and if that isn't enough, try a mask. It could be the dust created from cutting that's bothering you. They usually sell them at the dollar stores. It can be a pain to wear one, but at least you would get through your cutting quickly, therefore you wouldn't be stuck wearing it for long. Best of luck.

I can only be in a fabric store for about 10 minutes before my eyes start tearing , my nose starts running and I start sneezing. I suffer through it because I love all fabric stores! I wash my fabric when I get home and I don't have a problem after that. Imagine allergic to fabric!

I also have problems with breathing around new fabric. I hand rinse all my fabrics in as hot water as I can stand. Some are so heavily sized that the water looks like I have added too much soap!! Then they go into the dryer. I find this really helps me. If you are already doing that, then I think Monale might have a good solution for you. And if you can't find masks at the pharmacy, try a hardware store. Many people use them when staining furniture.

If there is a window in your cutting area you might put a box fan in the window to pull the particles out as you cut.

I have the same thing and washing the fabric helps with that.

I can always tell when a shop had new bolts of fabric out, my eyes water and sting. The chemicals used in fabric manufacturing are very harsh.

I agree that it sounds like the mask is the most logical solution for you when cutting since you are not bothered by the rest of the process does not affect you. Hardware stores carry them in the paint/stain section as well as the 'big box' stores if they are handier resources for you.

Oh dust gets to me that way. big time. a mask would help but it's frustrating to have to do that. starch fabric first before cutting. that should help. Good luck.

I find recently that I start sneezing during the cutting process. But then after that, I have no problems.

Starching might help contain the dust while you're cutting. I'm sensitive to
dust but I starch all my fabric and don't seem to have this problem...yet.
A dust mask as mentioned by others would also help.

that was my suggestion. maybe wash first too.

Try prewashing - that process removes chemicals and lint that can bother a person

I prewash all my fabric and dry it before it ever makes it to the sewing room. I use scent free detergent and dryer sheets. The perfume smelling soap and the dust makes me sneeze, and makes a bigger mess out of the project.

That is another reason I prewash. In the beginning, all I had to do was to move the fabric around. I started prewashing and that made a big difference. But I often sneezed or coughed while just being around the fabric in the store. Also if the fabric is uncovered after prewashing and just happens to get a little dusty without realizing it, that could make a person cough. Maybe before cutting you could just toss it into the dryer for a few minutes with no dryer sheets.

Either wash it or put it in the dryer for a few minutes on low heat. I have the same problem.

I have a similar problem, except that instead of sneezing my nose gets stuffed up and sometimes I get headachy. In my case it's all the fabric particles that get into the air during the cutting process. I've also noticed it with sewing, and I think it has to do with the lint from the thread. I starch my fabric, but that doesn't seem to help. Wearing a particle mask does help, but I often get so involved in what I'm doing that I forget to put it on:shock:

Rob

We did not have that problem so much when fabric was made in the U S. The places that it is now made in has a terrible humidity problem and all fabric has to be stored and shipped with a mildew retardant or everything gets covered with a white powder mildew. When we lived over there we had to hang bags of it in our closets and put little bags of it in out drawers or that is what would grow on everything. The smell is so bad but it has to be done. As soon as we got back to the states and I walked into a fabric shop I knew that smell as soon as I walked in and my eyes and nose started to run.

Several months ago I attended a workshop given by Jamie Wallen. In his quilting studio they were accustomed to ripping fabrics for backing, but several years ago started noticing increasing problems with reactions as described here (congestion, sneezing, eyes watering, etc.). He talked to fabric manufacturers and came up with the following information. Before the economy crashed, the average shelf life of quilting fabric in stores was 3 months; now it's 3 years. Because fabric has to look crisp and new in order to sell, the manufacturers have started adding in a lot of additional chemicals to the finishing process -- Jamie said about 6 times what they used to! When fabric is ripped, all those additional chemicals are dispersed into the air. Nowadays in his studio they all wear masks whenever fabric is being ripped to protect their lungs from the additional chemicals.

A lot depends on an individual's sensitivity to chemicals. It's just that there are so many more chemicals in fabric today, there is a higher chance of reacting to one or more. The issue is most obvious when ripping fabric because so many particles are released into the air. Cutting also causes release chemicals, although probably considerably less than ripping. The OP may have just enough sensitivity to one or more of the chemicals to react when fabric is cut, but not so much sensitivity that subsequent touching and sewing causes a reaction.

I am lucky in that most of my stash is older fabric as I am not a pre-washer. If I noticed any sensitivities or reactions in myself, though, I would definitely start pre-washing fabric.

Pick up a small bottle of "nasal saline" at the nearest pharmacy store. Usually costs just a couple dollars. It helps to spray each nostril with your head tipped forward. Then you can gently blow your nose to clear it. Happens to me anytime I stir up dust while dusting, or while cutting fabric. I tried a dust mask and it drove ne crazy trying to adjust to it. Pharmacist was who told me about it. Best of all, no drugs.

If I had those problems I would quit quilting.
I am glad I don't because I have much too much fabrics for that.

Precuts are fun, but difficult to prewash.

I get a bloody nose working with them.

Thanks for all of the suggestions and information y'all!! Madamekelly, thanks for the nasal spray suggestion! I'll have to try that. I've tried sucking on a piece of hard candy while cutting, and that seems to help with the coughing a bit, but I was still sneezing.

I've also tried the dust mask before while sanding down furniture to refinish, but for one thing, I feel like I'm suffocating! Another problem I have with it is that no matter how I try to adjust it, my breath will sneak out of the top and steam up my glasses! It's kinda hard to cut fabric looking through a thick fog! LOL!

Donna

Donna, I wear glasses too, but if you get a mask with a metal strip across nose, you can pinch to fit. Home Depot or Lowes has these. Helps with fog.
We had a lady in our town that had worked in a fabric store for years, over 10, that developed lung disease. When they did her bronical lavage they found fabric fibers. She was assigned the job of tearing fabric at check out. The shop now has a small fan that pulls fibers away from from the person tearing. The other shop will not allow there workers to tear.
As a child I had a similar reaction in fabric stores of watery/burning eyes. Now, I often use the Neti Pot to rinse nose after working in my sewing room or dusting, amazing what we breath.

That has happened to me a couple of times, especially with material that has not been washed . It does not with all material. Must be some chemical, I start coughin or get teary eyed.

Fabric comes with a finishing product on it that can irritate. I have what you describe, plus my nose & eyes actually itch. The easiest way is to wash the fabric before you cut it. However then, you may need to add more of a starch product that you can tolerate so the bias cuts don't stretch.

Crafty pat...where is THERE...just curious

We lived in the Far East. Taiwan and Okinawa.