foundation for strip quilt
 

I was reading on a blog about making strip quilts. One of the posters used fabric softener sheets for her foundation. She leaves them in. They are light, so would add almost no weight.
I have some used, leftover sheets (the large pet ones) I've been saving. I tried to press them, but it's not working. They stick to the iron if it's hot. They don't get flat with a cooler iron.
Suggestions?
bkay

I figured it out. I pressed it between parchment paper sheets.

bkay

The fabric softener sheets are highly flammable. I wouldn't leave them in a quilt for that reason.

I like to use thin tracing paper as the foundation

I made dozens of string quilts using Pattern Ease as the foundation. It is a non women, lightweight, inexpensive product that you can leave in. I love making string quilts!

I have used water soluble interfacing that I cut to size. Once my quilt has been washed the interfacing disappears and so will add no weight to the finished quilt.

I made a strip quilt with no foundation. I sewed the strips together starting g with a small triangle and they were on the diagonal And then squared them up. I made 90 and my friend made 90 and we shared 45 of them and each made a quilt. Fun project. Both came out so nice for both of us.

I found some really cheap fabric at the thrift store, it was part of a dust ruffle, the part that sits between the mattress and box spring. Lightweight and works great.

Can you ever get the smell (reek, to me) out of softener sheets?

I have both regular and permapress muslin in 90" width, a bolt of it. You never know when you might need some. I used muslin for my foundation the last 2 times I made strip piecings.

CathyVV, you're right. They are flammable. I just set one on fire to make sure you were right. They both melt and flame.

New plan required.

bkay

Cotton fabric and batting (all types) are flammable too, as are most things that we wear or keep in our homes. The melting is more concerning. I wonder how poly batting would react to flames.

. You can use anything for a foundation just keep in mind the weight after sewing. A few of my earlier string pieced quilts are very heavy because I used muslin. I have sewn on used dryer sheets, they all are very thin poly and have the same flash point as poly interfacing if that worries you. Over the years I have given up the make do way of thinking and buy the best for me products. I use the Gypsy Quilter Scrap tape in the 13" wide strips for string piecing. It washes away.

I tried them once. ONCE. Even though they were used, the scent was way too strong to tolerate for long, and I am NOT a chemical or scent-sensitive person.

All polyester melts when exposed to flame, so polyester batting would melt. Come to think about it, I use 80/20 batting, so it would melt and flame anyway..

I don't find "Bounce pet hair" smell offensive. However, I'll put some in my pillow case and see if a bunch smells too "loud" for me.

Well, there are "make do" options, recycling options, frugal options and expensive options. Gypsy quilter 13" works out to $2.00 per 13" square if you buy from Quilt in a Day. I don't know if shipping is extra.That's a little steep for me.

I just want something I do not have to remove, but is not heavy. I'm not opposed to buying a product for this purpose, but I don't want to spend a bunch of money if I don't have to.

bk

So glad you checked!

We use uncented fabric dryer sheets. I'm saving them for a string quilt. Bonnie Hunter, Quilting Teacher, says she uses old phone book pages or unprinted news sheet paper. Of course, the paper has to come off. Just do it when watching TV.

I have two old yellow pages books from the 80's. I guess I could try a square and see how hard it is to remove the paper. I could still use it in a quilt with different foundation pieces. Hmmm......

bkay

Can I ask why foundations are necessary? I am only going by my own experience and my friend because we each made those 90 blocks and traded half so we would have a friendship quilt. All thin scraps - no issues. They were on the diagonal. One of my favorite quilts. What did we miss?

I don't think you need to have a foundation - I watched Jenny Doan sew her scraps together then cut them into squares or triangles - whatever shape she wants. She calls it making more fabric. Jenny said in the video that every day she sews scraps together to keep them from getting out of hand and warm up. when she has enough ssewn together he cuts them up into the shape she wants and makes a quilt. To me using the foundation can help keep it more organized. MSQC does sell the foundation papers - they are light weight and not expensive. I used them when making a web quilt.

I check out old sewing patterns in thrift stores and buy the ones that are the thickest and full of pattern paper that can be cut up and used.

I've used dryer sheets, but ran them thru a wash cycle to get rid of the perfumy smell. (Put them in a lingerie bag and threw them in the wash).

My mom would throw a used dryer sheet in with stored out of season clothing. It didn't seem to matter how many times that sheet was used, over time the smell was overwhelming and did not wash out easily. Dryer sheets don't even live in my house anymore and I would never use them in a quilt.

If I am aiming for a specific shape, I use old tissue patterns. They tear off easily and what doesn't come off will dissolve in water. If the shape will be determined after the fact, I just sew the strips together--making sure to alternate the stitching direction of course.

Such a brilliant idea to use old clothing patterns! Definitely light weight, will tear off easily and should be fairly inexpensive. (I haven't priced them so have no idea of the cost.)

It's not quite as thin as old patterns, but gift wrap tissue paper from the dollar store would also work.

I've read that MSQ papers are not great. I don't remember what she said was wrong. You're right, they are not that expensive, but the post I read made me leery.

bkay

The foundation stabilizes the fabric to prevent stretching. Less important if you're using only quilting cottons, but a big help if you're using a variety of fabrics, and a must if you're doing a selvage quilt. Also you can use it as kind of a paper-piecing template if you want a really precise pattern.

And because I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, you can also do the quilt-as-you-go method and use your batting as the foundation. It saves you the extra weight/thickness of a foundation fabric, and you can swap the batting for felt to go even lighter.

I did do a couple of "fun and done" with the backing and batting. But the string quilt did just fine with no foundation.

I use cotton voile. It is super lightweight but gives enough support.

Watson

i asked for and not a roll of exam table paper from my dr!!!
thin so rips out easily with narrow stitches

Keeping in mind that the OP does not want to tear off paper....

I sew through paper a lot, more for quilting designs than for piecing. I can buy a pantograph roll for the pattern and then copy it on to parchment paper -- I buy from the dollar store, comes in a 25 by 1 foot rool. With my vision issues although it takes more time to both copy the pattern and then tear off the paper, I get much better results than trying to mark my scrappy tops with lots of color alternation. For one reason no one can tell if you bobbled off the design line a bit! I will say to be aware that some graphite from pencil can end up on white fabric and can be hard to get out.

Another warning -- you've got to watch tissue paper for quilting base, some of it has a light glazing of some sort of poly base and doesn't tear as well as you would hope. I find in general that the tissue paper also does not hold up well to the stitching part.

Again, I'll have to tear it off at the end but in my current Christmas themed string project I am using blank/fresh newsprint (not generally carried at office supply stores I've tried but I ordered from Amazon). It is much cheaper to buy as an art supply than the sheets from quilter-specific brands.

I do really like the suggestion of paper patterns from the thrift stores!!

Wait, has anyone brought up the wash-away sheets? I used them once years ago, so they do work. Not the cheapest option, though.

I've come across another option. I will not be able to try it until next week. (Company coming and I must clean house.)

While looking for places to stash all the scraps I've been sorting for color, I ran across a large piece of leftover curtain sheers (made "cafe style" curtains for an unused bedroom, and wanted it to be bright) . Of course, it's 100% polyester, so it's slickness might make it unusable. I washed it with the sheets and it's really lightweight and pliable. I'll see how it handles when company is gone.

This quilt is what prompted this search for a perfect foundation for a string quilt.

bkay

Just an FYI. I finally got a ladder and retrieved those old phone books from the top of the closet. Just the act of sewing scores the paper enough that it comes right off. I'm using my 301, and am sewing at about 20 stitches per inch. Of course, the phone books are from 2004, so the paper is pretty old.

bkay