Flannel purchased from Walmart
 

I bought some very dark green $3.49 or $3.79/yard flannel - the tag said double brushed. It felt a bit like felt before I washed it.

I soaked it in hot water in the washer for about three hours - turned the machine off and let it be (I forgot about it and started doing something else) - I washed it with a small amount of laundry detergent on a short gentle cycle and dried it till it was 'hot done' in the dryer.

The shrinkage was much less than I expected - about one inch in length per yard and two inches in width - and the surface did not pill. Also felt much softer and fluffier than when I brought it home. It did not seem to shed very much lint, either.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Thank you for the review; I love dark flannels. Is the material 100% cotton, did it bleed any?

Yes, it is 100% cotton.

The water turned med green - the rinse water was very pale green . I would be okay with using it - I washed a piece of lime green cotton-poly with it, and that did not pick up any color.

I would say that it had a bit of excess dye, but it does not appear to be a bleeder to me.

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Sounds like their "super flannel" line. WalMart seems to have two grades of flannel and the "super flannel" is VERY nice!

Thanks, nice to know

Do you find the Super Flannel in anything but solids? I often use flannel for a quilt back and don't really want to use a solid. I have used their regular flannel with good luck though. If I need 4 yds I buy 4 1/2 - just in case. I haven't measured to check how much shrinkage there is, but usually wash it twice before using.

Awhile back I bought some baby flannel with foot prints on it at Joanns for $1.49 a yard on sale. It was thin and not good quality.
Yesterday I found the same print at Walmart for $4.98. Much heavier and good quality.
Interesting that Walmart is getting better quality fabrics.

I have found that SOME of the lower priced cottons seem to be as nice or nicer - in my opinion - than SOME of the LQS lines.

There are several LQS lines that I don't care about at all - one line has very clever prints/designs, but some of the fabrics seem loosely woven with coarse threads. Another line seems sort of thin, flimsy, and stretchy to me. Another line (it may have improved since I bought a lot of those fabrics) had issues with fading.

But it does come down to personal preference - not everyone loves the heft of Kona cottons, for example.

What you bought is normally purchased to make diapers or receiving blankets and similar. I can't think of a reason why you can't use it in a quilt other than the double nap would make hand quilting a little more difficult. Maybe not. I cut out a bunch of that stuff for a friend who was on bed rest. She hand stitched all the diapers. Came out well.

Thanks for your info.... I'll have to check out Walmart's flannel selection as I purchase coordinating prints to make burps cloths. Yes, I always allow for preshrinkage before construction. :-)