Fabric Quality
 

As a new quilter I was very excited when someone offered me fabric from her stash of probably fifty years. She had been a supervisor in a thrift store for years so she had every quality imaginable. Now as I spend hours and hours cutting and sewing and sewing again trying to get it right I wonder how long these quilts will last I did not use the worst fabrics but as I spend more time sewing I realize some are still pretty poor. I understand without seeing and feeling the fabric, it is hard question to answer but are you willing to give me some of your thoughts and experience. Thank you.

The older fabric is often better quality but I notice I get more lint in my sewing machine. Quality of fabric is crazy, I have gotten poor quality from LQS and Joanns. You just have to feel it, look through it and learn what fabric lines You like to work with.

How long a quilt will last depends on many factors of which fabric quality is only one.

How will it be used?

How frequently will it be washed?

How closely are you quilting?

Will it be in direct sunlight?

Is there chlorine in your local water supply?

How long is acceptable to you?

I do not make heirloom quilts. I make quilts to be used and abused. I would rather a quilt I make be in rags in 5 years, than sit on a shelf for 50. My quilts go to the beach, park, cover the seat of my car and sofa to protect the underlying upholstery from dirty pet feet.

My quilts will be washed in the machine and line dried in summer, but will go in the dryer in the winter.

The one place I am cautious is with binding. It often gets more wear and tear than the face or back of the quilt. I like bias binding and tend to use new (less than 10 years in stash) for that.

Binding does get the most wear. I remember having quilts made by my grandmother that we used a lot. At some point my mother replaced the bindings on most of them.

Wash every piece before you use it. You can decide as you press it whether it suits your purpose. There is no shame in donating fabrics that don't. There are crafts that can use lesser quality fabrics and crafters are happy to find them in a thrift store. I don't care about the age at all, just the feel.

I agree with pre-washing for fabrics that age. Washing will get rid of any chemicals and tighten up the weave, plus you will know to toss if a fabric is going to fade a lot. The biggest problem with old fabrics is probably with the dyes. Loose weaves will either tighten up or remain awful after washing. Dyes may or may not be as colorfast as we expect today.

---ditto---
plus .... pre-washing can also sort out some of the less-desirable fabrics.
Sometimes what I thought was a really good fabric, seemed more cheesecloth-like after washing.
The pre-washing will get out the filler in the fabrics, and let you know what you really do have!

A few tips if you are able to shop in person for fabric.

1. Can you see through it? You shouldn't be able to. Thin fabric ...ew.
2. Does it stretch much in either direction? It shouldn't stretch from selvage-to-selvage, and shouldn't stretch too much the other direction.
3. How does it feel? If it's soft and drapes nicely in your hand, you will enjoy it as a quilt. If it's coarse or scratchy....nah.

Online shopping is different. You're best off getting just 1/3 or 1/2 of a yard of a fabric
you're not familiar with, until you find out if you like it. If you do, order more right away, because when fabrics are gone, they're gone. Manufacturers produce new lines and phase out the old quite quickly in the quilting industry.

I just go by the feel. I pre wash all my fabrics when I get them home. I dry in dryer and fold on regular and have very little ironing or pressing until I start sewing it.

I have also read - somewhere, maybe on here - that bias binding lasts longer; wears better.

I am like Tothill as I don't make quilts to last forever. I want them used and loved till there is no use left in them. This gives me the opportunity to make a replacement

A friend gave me her mom's stash. There was actually very little that I could use. She purchased what was available at the time. Fabric blends and thin fabrics. I made a few quilt throws for her then donated the rest to the free table at Guild. Life is too short to use fabric that is just okay. Some love scrap quilts and would adore a stash but for me, I'd rather have something I like not something someone else likes.

Today's fabric is very often a lesser quality. In the last 20 years of working in a fabric store, I can not believe some of the changes. This has been done to keep costs down (and even at that the cost has skyrocketed). But, most often, today's quilts are not heirloom items. While we hope our quilts are cherished and treasured and will be handed down thru families, this is no longer the case. I am thrilled that my kids have kept their baby quilts (the girls even took theirs with them to college), but other quilts they have outgrown, changed their tastes, changed their home decor, etc and the quilts have been passed down or given away. This is ok, I know they have been loved when they were used. Because of this, I am not as concerned with the lesser quality fabric. It is also one of the reasons I machine quilt instead of handsew my quilts. Having said that, trust your gut. If a fabric feels real thin or funky, do not use is. Throw it in the box used for trying out blocks or stuffing toys.

Fabric that old I would certainly wash and dry it to see how it held up, before spending my time putting it in a quilt.

I am also in the pre-wash school of thought, especially with older fabrics or those from unknown sources. If it holds up well after a good wash in hot water (no major bleeding, uneven shrinkage, developing holes, excessing fraying, etc.) and the overall look and feel of the fabric after pressing seems 'normal', then I would go ahead and use it in a project. If not, just donate it and get it out of your stash. Using questionable fabrics is just not worth the agony of having HOURS of work wasted on fabric that will not hold up.

I have about 220 "H's" finished of the quilt in progress that I am most concerned about (I have some of the fabric in one other). I am going to go through and re-evaluate. Thanks everyone. I appreciate the help as I am working on my own. Cheers, Kelsie