This has been a great discussion. Whether or not formaldyhyde is found in Aspertaine or not is irrelevant....they all have chemicals. I knew about the stuff in the material and have washed my material because I just don't like the idea of the chemicals. But I wonder when they make our material with all the beautiful prints.......what kind of chemicals go into the printing process? And why is it that some of the material with lots of prints all over it are stiffer then others????? I do like to feel my material if I can. Thanks for all the information about how dangerous our homes can be with all the chemicals in it. Glad I have the windows opened. LOL.

Yes, most fabrics still contain formaldehyde. Also, many contain a chemical to "set" the dyes used.

A interesting side note: When I moved to NC from Indiana, we moved into a brand new house. I was in and out of the crawl space due to a variety of issues. For the last two years we lived there, I had unbearable hives. The doctors could not figure out what they were caused by. I moved back to Indiana and have not had a breakout of hives since. It was almost immediate. I really believe it was the chemicals in the house and crawl space that brought on the allergies.

I am sensitive to chemicals, one being formaldehyde. I can not stay in Jo Ann's for more than 20 mins. The fumes from formaldehyde makes my eyes burn....I stick to all cotton. I haven't had any problems with the cotton....

That's why I only drink water or plain iced tea. And of course, a bit of wine at dinner!

I don't think a lot of people know how much formaldehyde is in everything around us. It is in the print in books, the money we handle, etc.

http://www.formaldehydefacts.org/app...s/common_uses/

I find that really interesting because about 10 years ago w moved into this house and I got extremely sick. I had never been sick much at all until moving here. I began to notice that as long as I was working outside most of the day, I wouldn't get so sick but in the evenings when I was inside it would hit me like a ton of bricks. I also had a lot of repairs that need to be done under the house (crawl space) and when I worked under there I was worse then ever. I got worried and called the poison control people and explained what was going on and asked if they had any idea what could be causing me so much trouble. They told me that their best guess would be from the materials the house was made from. This was a huge shock to me because I have always lived in wooden houses, the difference was the houses I previously lived in were all old houses (most built in early 1900's) so even though I grow up in wood houses the ones they make today are not all wood like they use to be made. They told me that the smell of formaldehyde should only linger about 6 months but since the house was already 10 years old they had no idea what to tell me to do.

To make a long story short, I ripped out every bit of flooring in the house, carpet, wood, tile, you name it I ripped it out, in the process of doing so the fumes were so bad they knocked me flat on my butt. I had to be taken outside and I lived in the shed until all the work was done. After I got some good air I opened the house up for several days so I could go in and do the work. It took a while because after 4 or 5 hours in the house I just got sick and had to get out. Anyway, I had to seal the floors with several coats of porch paint to seal out the fumes from the sub-flooring which is all press board, particle board or what ever you want to call it. Once the floors were sealed with the paint, I laid the heaviest tar paper I could get on top and then added all new hardwood not imitation but real hard wood floors or ceramic tiles. This is the only way I could fix the house for me to be able to live in it. All the kitchen cabinets that were made with the particle board also were removed.

To this day, I refuse to buy anything made with particle board, all the nice looking shelves and things they make are what makes so many people sick. Yes all fabrics, carpet, the particle boards for house building, furniture and so much more have some form of chemicals in them but it seems they are putting more of the stuff in there then what is needed.

Most people that know me say that I'm to picky because if something isn't make with plain old solid wood, then I don't want it even if your giving it away.

Nothing gets to "live" at our place unless it can be washed....good old soap and water and hung outside to dry...gets rid of most "nasties" and is a much healthier way to live. It is difficult to be completely chemical free....but using natural products and regular sweeping, dusting and airing does help a lot.

Just read it. Woah. Gross and scary! It never comes out??? So what are we quilters supposed to do? Buy all organic?

I suppose we shouldn't worry so much about what we sew on as much as what we wear.