Fire retarded
 

I was making Xmas gifts for a children's ward. They are of course quilts. I have rung the ward to ask if they could cope with letting the teenagers select their own design.
Hospital wanted to know if the were fire proof and they would have trouble boiling them . I explained they were for the children to take home a gift not for the ward use.

Now what are your thoughts. How do we make them fire proof and boilerble?

Don't know! Cotton will hold up to boiling, but colors will fade and batting will shrink and/or melt. I sew at a flag company and indoor flags for schools/fire departments are treated with a spray before shipping and labeled Do Not Wash- indoor use only. There may be some health concerns about the retardants used on children's sleepwear in the US. I guess you'll have to ask the hospital. Let us know what you find out please?

I wouldn't want a chemical put on my sick child's quilt. Maybe you could arrange for the kids to only get their quilt on the way home or have their parents or guardian take it home to wash. I would hate for a lol your hard work to be boiled or treated with a chemical.

Wow, I've heard of hospitals requesting quilts be sturdily quilted, machine bound and washable in hot water, but the fire retardant is new to me. I agree with the comment about additional chemicals in a sick room.
Any fire retardant that you spray on, can't be washed, and any fabric manufactured to be fire retardant you probably wouldn't want to quilt with and would be cost prohibitive.
Did a bit of google research. Looks like this is a UK thing. Here's one site that sells bedding:
http://www.thomaskneale.co.uk/bed-li...ant-bed-linen/

I found out recently that at the local adult senior home, they wash EVERYTHING in HOT water.

I think all hospital and nursing homes use large washing machines and very hot water. Sanitation is a huge issue in those places.

Quilts are inherently somewhat fire retardant in that they will not burst into flames the way thin draperies will. The thickness of the layers of a quilt slow down the fire. This is because fire is fueled by oxygen. A thin drapery lit from below will burst into flames because air can easily reach both sides of the fabric. A quilt made with cotton or wool batting will burn very slowly because the ratio of air to fabric is much smaller, and the burned portions will turn to ash. A quilt made with polyester batting will also burn very slowly for the same reason, but the burned portions will consist largely of a gooey substance that can stick to skin and create third degree burns.

Fire retardancy is quite a complex issue. It seems to me the hospital person who talked to the OP does not really understand what "fire proof" means. I sincerely doubt that all of the linens and blankets used in a hospital are "fire proof".

They just don't want the item to go up in flames quickly. Such as those that can't be near an open flame or fabrics that melt quickly. A client of mine decades ago when I was a hairdresser was in the hospital and that was before smoking was prohibited, had a silky quilted bed jacket on. She fell asleep with the cigarette in her hand just as the nurse walked into her room. It burned the jacket but the quick thinking nurse grabbed the water glass and put the fire out. Things made of cotton are readily acceptable and most items brought in by family are taken home by family if they need laundered. It's the silky, satiny, nylon, polyester flimsy fabrics they don't welcome. I loaned my stepmother a warm Guess sweater (cotton) because she was always so chilly in the hospital for one stay. She took a nap with it on and when she woke up it was gone. Just make sure it's labeled so it doesn't come up missing!

I know that when we do the Linus Project we use normal cotton fabric and cotton batting. Nothing is added to the quilts, and no local hospital has turned them away yet.

You can see it on the top of fabric bolts. If they are flammable they say not for use in children's clothing or pajamas. If there is no warning then they are safe.

Here in Delaware where a lot of chemists live, we were told if you use freezer paper to make a quilt, the chemical will never come out of the fabric. Just a caution for those of you who use it, especially in appliqué. I do not remember if it is flammable or not. Someone could check with the local fire department and see what they say.

Nothing else in the room is fire proof. Why does a quilt from an interested friend have to be fireproof?

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