I am wanting to make my grandson a quilt in all flannel. It will be a simple pinwheel quilt. I will be using Joann's Snuggle flannel for the top and not sure of the brand of flannel for the bottom. And what about using spray starch (Mary Ellen's Best) on flannel? Does starch work the same on flannel as it does cotton?

I've made several flannel quilts, and they're SO cosy and warm and snuggly!

I didn't use starch, but didn't have too many problems with stretching. The biggest thing is to not wave the iron around vigorously! :-)

I have also made several flannel quilts. Some I did use startch and honestly I don't think it made any difference.

I suggest you wash flannel first and then iron and cut. I have had a flannel quilt pucker and shrink after I made it because I did not wash.

Oh yeah...you have to wash flannel, it does shrink by about an inch or two. Always get more than you think you need.

When I made a flannel quilt, I washed and dried the flannel in the dryer twice to make sure it had finished shrinking.

I starched the flannel too, before cutting. It made the flannel stiff so there were no problems with stretching and the pieces went together very accurately.

I think there is a recommendationsto use 1/2-inch seams for flannel in case it frays. I think I did that also.

Spray starch creates problems for me; my hand gets tired of spraying, I hate dealing with overspray (which I seem always to get), and it doesn't stiffen fabric to the degree I like. So, I developed the following method. Mix a 1:1 solution of liquid Sta-Flo laundry starch and water. Lay fabric on kitchen island. "Paint" starch mixture on with a large wall painting brush. Throw saturated fabric in dryer. Iron with steam. The resulting fabric (including fabric) is very stable so that even bias edges don't stretch. I use this method on background fabric for applique also, in lieu of stabilizers.

Thanks for the tips!! I will try the starch solution to keep the bias edges from stretching.

how did you finish the edges of your flannel quilt? I am making one for my niece's baby and I'm not sure if I want to just do a blamket stitch on the edges.

I have made a couple of flannel quilts, and I did the standard binding thing. You have to be careful, though, because of all the stretching.....same as the top blocks.

Prism99 did you wash the flannel in you own washer or at a laundromat?

At home. I washed and dried it twice. It shrank *a lot*!!!

Hey Prism99 would I want to do that starch thingy if I were doing a rag quilt. Dumb question?

Have you heard about the easy way to make a pinwheel? Take a light and dark 6 inch sq. facing each other. Sew all around the outside 4 sides. Cut the each way on the diagonal. You end up with 4 1/2 sq triangles. set them up dark light dark light. Bingo a pinwheel.

I read about that method here and went to the site included in the post and made a sample pinwheel step by step with the tutorial (had to rewind it a few times) and it was so easy. I get so much help here. :) :) :)

It's not a dumb question!

I haven't made a rag quilt yet, so I'm not sure. From what I've read, people usually do not pre-wash flannel for a rag quilt and in that case you also would not use starch. The starch is really helpful when you are piecing a quilt out of flannel; keeps the edges from distorting and allows for very precise piecing. With rag quilts, you don't have the need for precision piecing so starching could be over-kill.