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-   -   Fabric Allergies and Washing Fabric- PLEASE DO (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/fabric-allergies-washing-fabric-please-do-t64674.html)

bearisgray 09-17-2010 05:54 AM
I will agree that some people are sensitive to some of the chemicals added.

cka 09-17-2010 10:45 AM
Originally Posted by marlene tarzwell
I washed some fabric today but I usually don't. I sure will now. Two weeks ago I had a bad week and sewed right through my index finger. The needle broke in two and I had to pull the point part out the bottom with the string still in it. Got an x-ray but the needle was a clean break.Talk about severe pain. The end of that week, I will be darned if I didn't do it again on my middle finger but just took a piece of nail and meat off the tip. Like I said, a bad week. I am very surprised now that I didn't get an infection. So you know now I WILL WASH!!Thanks a bunch for telling us the cons of not washing fabric.
Can anyone tell me how to wash fat quarters?? I would appreciate it. Thanks, Marlene
I usually wash them in a sink by hand and dry in dryer if they don't bleed. If they bleed, they get handled individually depending on what I have to do. My quilting friend puts hers in a mesh bag in her washer.

bibiche 09-17-2010 10:52 AM
Don't quite buy the story in the OP, but I DO wash all of my fabric now as I seem to have developed a sensitivity to the sizing or something in fabric that hasn't been washed. My fingers start to hurt immediately these days when I handle unwashed fabric.

marlene tarzwell 09-17-2010 12:12 PM
Originally Posted by cka
Originally Posted by marlene tarzwell
I washed some fabric today but I usually don't. I sure will now. Two weeks ago I had a bad week and sewed right through my index finger. The needle broke in two and I had to pull the point part out the bottom with the string still in it. Got an x-ray but the needle was a clean break.Talk about severe pain. The end of that week, I will be darned if I didn't do it again on my middle finger but just took a piece of nail and meat off the tip. Like I said, a bad week. I am very surprised now that I didn't get an infection. So you know now I WILL WASH!!Thanks a bunch for telling us the cons of not washing fabric.
Can anyone tell me how to wash fat quarters?? I would appreciate it. Thanks, Marlene
I usually wash them in a sink by hand and dry in dryer if they don't bleed. If they bleed, they get handled individually depending on what I have to do. My quilting friend puts hers in a mesh bag in her washer.
Thanks for the suggestion. Never thought of doing by hand. Do you use soap or vinegar, or softener?

cka 09-17-2010 02:08 PM
I use laundry soap to wash. If they bleed I start with a vinegar soak; if that doesn't work I go for the big guns...Retayne.

Fabricnut 09-17-2010 05:27 PM
I doubt that fabric is any dirtier than the carts at Walmart. Community accquired staph infections are on the rise. Boils or spider bites are one of the first things people complain about. Wash your hands and keep your fingers and pins out of your mouth folks.

JudyBsquared 09-17-2010 07:37 PM
Originally Posted by amandasgramma
Okay - I'm convinced!!!! Might also explain my weird allergy problems!!! thanks for the info!
Just curious what are your allergy problems. After reading this I'm wondering if some of my symptoms are from unwashed fabric. I'm having some trouble focusing, my eyelids itch and I have a strange burning and swelling around my mouth. I thought it was drug side effects.

I get discouraged with all the raveling when washing the fabrics. Does anyone have a solution?

cka 09-17-2010 07:51 PM
Try using pinking shears on the raw edges or zigzag them before washing. I just keep a pair of scissors in the laundry room and clip the ravels when the fabric comes out of the dryer. Small price to pay for clean fabric and no color bleed in finished quilts.

garysgal 09-17-2010 08:10 PM
Originally Posted by JudyBsquared
Originally Posted by amandasgramma
Okay - I'm convinced!!!! Might also explain my weird allergy problems!!! thanks for the info!
Just curious what are your allergy problems. After reading this I'm wondering if some of my symptoms are from unwashed fabric. I'm having some trouble focusing, my eyelids itch and I have a strange burning and swelling around my mouth. I thought it was drug side effects.

I get discouraged with all the raveling when washing the fabrics. Does anyone have a solution?
We don't have a Handcock's here, but in Texas when I went in I had the burning eyes and trouble breathing. I didn't go in very often because I was afraid my asthma would kick in. But the symptoms went away when I left the building.
I read somewhere that if you serge or zigzag across your fabric it won't ravel when you wash it. Someone else said they use pinking shears and cut it.

bearisgray 09-17-2010 08:17 PM
If people are allergic to the chemicals added, maybe taking the fabric DIRECTLY to the washing machine might be the better way to go.

I've heard that clipping a diagonal from each corner minimizes raveling. (I serge or overcast the raw edges - but I'm not particularly sensitive to fabrics - although I do have symptoms in some stores)


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