Hello All:

Brand new to the board and a relatively new quilter. I took my first class at my quilt shop a year and a half ago and fell in love! Never sewed before so I do have lots of "basic" questions.

I should also say, I'm pretty obsessive so this question may sound silly.

I have been acquiring fun fabrics for my stash and thought it was time to wash and iron them and store them for projects. My quilt instructor is a "no steam" kind of lady but I've talked to other quilters who do steam. I have not used steam when quilting because I really respect my instructor's advice.

My problem is, particularly for big pieces of fabric (like a few yards) they get all spiraled in the dryer and getting those wrinkles out with a dry iron is a real challenge! I don't want to get my fabric stretched or messed up which is what I've been told happens if you use steam.

Can folks share their thoughts on whether they dry iron or steam iron their fabrics before they begin their projects?

I can't get wrinkles out unless I do use steam.

I don't put my material in the dryer. I take it from the washer to the ironing board. It is spun almost dry, so it is the right amount of damp to iron well. If it is bigger than 3 yards, I cut it in yard pieces. sayl, 2yards per. It always irons so much easier then.

Your question is a re-occuring one because everyone's opinion is different. I think the dangers of steam are for pieces that are already cut out; i.e., using steam might warp the fabric so a 4x4 block might end up a 4.1 block. This is especially true for pieces with bias edges such as triangles. Also, for cut pieces, don't iron back & forth, always go up & down. This is true for ironing seams, also.

But, for fabric which hasn't been cut for a pattern, I use a spray bottle of water, lightly spritz, and iron away.

I steam my fabric and then starch it before cutting. I don't wash my fabric before use, I figure the steam will shrink it or bleed it on the ironing cover if those problems are in the fabric.

I think your instructor was talking about after you begin your blocks, once you start pressing your seams in the block steam can distort. However, pressing fabric in prep for cutting steam shouldn't hurt. Just my thoughts.

When I wash my fabric I always iron it with steam. I also keep a spray bottle of water just in case there's a stubborn wrinkle. I also use steam with my pieces though, but I don't iron back and forth I take my iron place it on the seam and steam. Haven't had much distortion. I like my seams set for when I'm sewing them together, they just seem to lay flatter and stay in the direction they need to be.

Hello and welcome from SW Iowa. Glad to have you here. I try to get the fabric out of the dryer before it's completely dry and that makes it easier to press out those wrinkles. Otherwise I need to use steam too.

I serge or cut the edges with pinking shears so they don't get balled up in the dryer. That will help with some of the wrinkling.

I don't normally press my fabric until I'm ready to use it and I always use steam.

Welcome to the board and to the wonderful world of quilting!

Thanks to all. Based on everyone's great advice, I think I can give myself permission to use steam to iron my fabric after I wash it. LOL!! :-)