I'm trying to make baby blankets for a shower this Sunday. I read everything here on flannel. I washed all of it together in hot water twice and it's a mess!! It looks like it's old and has lint all over it. :(
Did I buy bad flannel or wash it wrong? I got it a JoAnn's.

Mist it with a spray bottle until slightly damp. Then iron, iron, iron! I use steam when I iron it. Good Luck!

That happened to me too...I watching this for answers. Maybe it gets better when you iron it? I'm not normally a prewasher and I used the flannel in a baby rag quilt before I knew that it would shrink so much. Didn't have a problem with the shrinkage because everything shrank at the same rate but it did look old and linty like you said...

Sometimes when I wash flannel I will use my pinking shears on the non-salvage edges. It keeps it from raveling so much.
Iron, iron and iron some more. I keep a spray bottle with just water in it to spray down the fabric.

Hope it irons up nice!

I take a lint roller and go over it after washing and drying. I hate it when it pills. Some pill more than others. Just pick the ones off that don't come off with the roller. It will be fine after that. I have never had them pill more after the first wash.

If you use flannel again, pre-wash but only on your permanent press setting. The hot water may have shrunk it to the point teh fibers will never go back to their original or almost original state. I would go so far as to throw it in teh washer again on teh pp cycle, dry on the pp cycle, and remove immediately.
I'm sorry, but I never use hot water to wash anything but my bath towels. Too risky.

Joann's "snuggle" flannel is not good quality at all. (I used to work in the quilting department.) It's hard to resist, though, because it's cute and so many choices. I bit the bullet and bought REAL quilt-shop-quality flannel online for a special baby quilt and the difference is amazing - night and day. If you can afford something else, avoid Snuggle Flannel.

Spray the back with starch - wait a couple of minutes (or spray the entire pile and start with the first piece you sprayed) and Iron away on the front.

Should come out fine...at least mine does.

oh no...first off should probably only washed it once, in warm not hot...the dryer gets plenty hot enough...and Joanne's fabric is so sub-standard, sorry you wasted your money. try using a lint roller, starch and press. it may still be usable.
after a quilt is put together and quilted it is the batting that dictates the amount of shrinkage and flannel quilts when made, quilted bound THEN washed come out wonderfully soft and fluffy. i would go ahead and put it together. if it is horribly (pilled-those little round poky dots) i would buy different flannel. fabric.com is a good source for good quality at a reasonable price.