My family has started giving me fabric since I have put out the word that I quilt. Often I can't tell if itn is 100% cotton. I prewash all fabric unless for a wall hanging. Is it safe to use unknown fabric in quilts, if I preshrink all cotton fabric to prevent shrinkage? deenp661

If you try to iron the fabric and it sticks to your iron (set on cotton or just below) it is NOT 100% COTTON. If you singe a snip of it with a match and it melts, , also NOT 100% cotton. Think of something else to use it for.

i prefer 100% cotton but have used others

agree. but if they are for donation no worries. If they are for you...I prefer cotton. :-)

Cut a small piece of the fabric, I usually do about 2inch square and light a corner of it on fire--use a candle or something stable. Let it burn for two or three seconds, being careful to do it over a plate or something non burnable. Blow out the flame and then let it cool a second or two. Now feel the burnt edge. If it is soft and smooth it is cotton. If it is hard and crisp, it is a blend or polyester or rayon. IF you smell the burnt part, the artificial fibers smell like plastic, also.
I like cotton for bed quilts, and use the other fabrics for tote bags, runners, wall hangings and craft projects.

sometime you can tell by how it frays along the edge. Cotton will fray differently than blends.

Me, too--depending on what the fabric will be used for. If the item isn't going to need a lot of washing, like in a wall hanging, I would consider non-cotton fabrics. I would try to match the weight of the fabrics and the wash-ability too. I would stick to 100% cotton for bed quilts or other items that might get a lot of wear and tear.

you can mix fabrics in your quilting; recycling is a huge part of quilting. there are some who insist that you buy only cotton everything, thread, fabric, batting...but that is just (THEIR) choice it is certainly not a rule...and there are tons of 70's quilts from our mother's made of horrible polyester...the quilts wear like steel and last forever...there is nothing wrong with mixing textiles as long as all can be laundered together.

Bonnie Hunter was the speaker yesterday at our quilt guild, and she was absolutely delightful. She said when she first started quilting she made primarily charity quilts, and people would give her all kinds of fabric to use. She said now because of her books and lectures, people still give and send her fabric...but she said the most comical is when she gets a UPS package from some one anonymously! Maybe they are afraid she'll send it back!

I get a lot of fabric given to me, as well. I have found that using poly-cotton blends in quilts is fine, although sometimes it isn't quite as easy to work with. You do have to keep your iron set a little lower, though. And prewashing is always a good idea.

I usually do a burn test if I'm not sure what a fabric is.

Also edited to add: for something you really want to be an heirloom, you might stick to cotton. Sometimes the poly blends "pill" more with washing. But my MIL says she has a set of supposedly good, high count cotton sheets that pilled a lot, too.