The fabric says "50/50 cotton/ polyester"...
 

This is my recent "wow" find. ($.75!) I have never used 50/50 woven fabric to make a quilt. How do I work with it? I have a young lady in mind who could use the durability in her quilt. Do any of you have any ideas for a different pattern with these shapes? There are 168 of each color. Since it is cotton/polyester, I hope to use it for my first serger quilt. Do I use the polyester setting on my iron? All advice welcomed. [ATTACH=CONFIG]574380[/ATTACH]


I have some polyester that will work color-wise, can or should I mix them?

What a find! I see no problem with using 50/50 in your quilt. But if you use something else for filler pieces or background, I would use a blend, or if you are using cotton, make sure you prewash and dry the cotton, as the poly doesn't shrink. Yes, use a slightly lower setting to iron.

So there is quilting term for them? Dragger" I like it. :)

just make sure that you don't have your iron all the way hot... the poly will shrink if ironed too hot

I have mixed cotton and cotton blend in many of my quilts without any problem. I don't pre-wash anything.

I mixed cotton and polycotton fabrics years ago. My Son still had a quilt from it. The polycotton and polyester batting out lasted the cotton fabrics by lots of years.

If I ever get most of my cotton fabrics sewed up I plan to make all polycotton quilts.

I don't think I would use a serger to sew those diamond shapes, You might want to test on some scrap fabric to see if you like using the serger for this project.

With that pattern, you must mark your 1/4" points where everything joins on each diamond and you must stop stitching where those dots meet 1/4" away from the corner. This is not a pattern for a serger as it cannot be done. I just did a Lemoyne star quilt that had 25 12 1/2" star blocks and 80 6 1/2" star blocks and it was a stinker.

ok, explain the "Dragger" term for us dummies..................

"A "dragger" is a quilt meant to be loved and drug around the house, usually by a child. That is why polyester is good to use for them. They wear like iron. Remember polyester slacks? Those things lasted forever, and never faded.

I doubt that there is a problem using the 50/50 blend fabric. However, I definitely would not use a serger to make it. I saw Eleanor Burns make a quilt with serger and I followed her example. I did not care for the outcome because of the bulk of thread on the back of the top and some of the thread showed through to the front. The stitch mechanism on a serger just functions differently that a sewing machine with a top thread and bobbin thread. I like my serger for lots of applications but a quilt is not one of them.

Our charity quilt leader at guild uses a serger for some straight seam applications with good results. However, dealing with diamond shapes and points is a whole different challenge.

I have some of these, bought many, many years ago at a store closing. The package says 50/50, but the fabric doesn't feel or act like it has 50% poly, it actually seems kind of heavy, compared to today's fabrics. I just opened them looking for some mindless sewing while watching baseball on tv. They worked up really fast and pressed like cotton. I have another from my mother called bowtie, but it isn't for mindless sewing as it has a Y-seam. I do not like Y-seams; especially on something as small as less than a 6" block. I tried to add a pic but no go. I have a fan and Dresden plate.

Shrink and melt...experience...

Testing to see if I can add pic.

Success! There are over 700 pieces in the plate. Now it will probably sit for another 20 years(lol) if I can't come up with a way to set them together beyond the traditional way, which I don't want to do. Any suggestions?

Forgive me. Now that I have figured out how to download, I've gone a little overboard;but don't worry, it won't last. I'll go back to lurking. Especially if I keep having so much trouble with this site typing. This bowtie looks more like yours and the fabric definitely has poly and takes a cooler iron. WHEW... that took 10 mins. to type!!!!

Wow! That is an awesome find. Years ago our local Dime Store carried those kits. I still have one of the kits in blues that I never made yet. I plan on it someday but there is just so much to do & little time to do it

I would preshrink my cotton batting (or use a poly batting) using a 50/50 fabric. The fabric will not shrink as much as cotton does when it is washed. Using a cooler iron is good. I also use a pressing cloth to keep poly from looking shiny when pressed. Remember that the poly content makes the fabric more stable therefore a little less pliable. For example, cotton will ease together if pieces are a little off. Poly ripples when eased and the ripples don't press out as easily as cotton.

when students ask about mixing fabrics, I show them a picture of one of the most beautiful quilts I have seen - a very old crazy quilt that included velvets, laces and bits of the grandfather's wool jacket. You can use any fabric you wish. It is just that some require a bit more attention. Examples are knits require stabilizing and laces require backing. I am not one who believes in prewashing EXCEPT when mixing fabrics. Then I would prewash everything so they have a level playing field. Have fun with it and great deal!

My problem with p/c fabric. It simply has no ease. Your pieces have short seams so that may not be an issue. I would prefer to mix it with a prewashed all cotton fabric just to have a few places that can be eased should it be necessary. Pretty fabrics.

My comment on using a serger is about the same....impossible for little pieces but i've used my serger a lot for sewing the borders on and it trims as you go......i have a 4 thread babylock serger, it's 17 yrs. Old and still in good shape.....i hope, my 20 yr. Old g-son sleeps in my sewing room for now so i haven't used it much in the last yr.......i hope he moves out again very soon......lol.......