Fraying...any solution?
 

I am new to quilt piecing, and am in the middle of making a queen size quilt. This quilt has 9 squares and fence rail blocks. I am finding that there is ALOT of fraying going on!! I am loving the look of what I have so far, but I am getting concerned about the fraying of all the seams in my blocks. Is there anything that can be done? I actually thought about maybe spraying the back of the quilt with hair spray....but I decided more research is needed instead. Google has been no help, so I am hoping to get some advice from more experienced quilters. Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

You can starch the blocks from the back. This will help some. Try to handle the blocks as little as possible. You will find some fabrics fray more than others. Batik ravels least because of the density of it. A loose woven fabric will fray most. You will be able to tell by feel as you get more experience. Some starch fabrics before cutting.

I've gotten to where I lightly starch before cutting. What you might try is; depending on what kind of starch you use, Iprefer the StaFlo is put a little in a small cup. Use a cotton swab or small flat makeup brush and dip into the starch then run it along the edges. Then let it dry. That should hold it at bay.

What type of fabric did you use? I've never had fabric fray enough to worry about unless I was using homespun or other loose weave fabric.

Hairspray will just make it sticky. Use starch.

Also, for future: wondering if you squared up your fabric before cutting anything. I usually get more issues if I'm working on a bias & sometimes fabrics are wound off-grain so just cutting without squaring things up can result in issues with fraying. It's the reason why I stopped buying any of the larger pre-cuts.

I am using a precut 10 inch squares called Gathering Basket by Henry Glass Fabrics.

I sure didn't square anything up before I cut it. I am making this out of 10 inch precut squares, and had to do a lot of cutting into small squares. Perhaps that is a contributor to my difficulties.

with precuts you shouldn't get lots of fray--did you wash them by any chance? Think that would cause fray.

Some precuts are cut using a zigzag, pinking edge. I find that these tend to fray off little threads at times. Give a gentle starching to areas done and all those pieces you are still going to use. Let them dry without ironing it will stick to the iron.

the people at the quilt store said that new Terial Magic is supposed to cut down on/eliminate as much as possible - fraying.
http://www.amazon.com/Terial-Arts-Ma...c+fabric+spray

I don't have any of this yet, and I don't work for them, or have any vested interest in the product. Just that they said it works on fraying.

I, too, would question if your fabric was initially cut on-grain. If not and you were cutting down your pre-cut pieces that would explain much of the fraying to me. I don't use pre-cuts so other than a guess, can't be sure. In future, try to find the straight of grain before starting your subcuts and you should have much less fraying.

I have gotten into the habit of starching everything before cutting. I would contact the manufactures and supply photos of the fraying. If they don't know there is a problem, they won't be able to correct it. Trim the edges carefully with a sharp pair of scissors.

Didn't in the past but I now starch all my fabrics before I cut into them. I realized a wallhanging that I purchased the fabric kit made up of just 2.0 x 6.0 strips for I hadn't starched them for fear they would shrink too much and now all those seams are fraying big time so I put some of my Quilter's Moonshine into my spray bottle and sprayed the heck out of it on the backside, let it dry and then misted with water and pressed it. Now I go ahead and starch all fabrics whether they're in a kit or not so I don't have this issue again.

starching is great but make sure you press, not iron. also be careful as to how much you are pulling or stretching, which starching will also help with too. What kind of fabric is it that frays so much.

Terial Magic acts like a stablizer of sorts. I got it for my scan n cut and emb designs.

I agree with a stiff starching. If the fraying is bad on the already sewn blocks I might run a second line of stitching about 1/16" from the first and a tighter stitch. I had to do this with some homespun fabric I used in a quilt because it raveled a lot. I also stay stitched the rest of the homespun blocks before including them in the quilt -- this about 1/8" from the edge.

I'm also a big fan of starching. It eliminates lots of problems- fraying, fabric distortion (if properly pressed), problems with bias edges, sewing issues, you name it. Most of the time I heavily starch my fabric before cutting, especially if there is any tricky piecing involved. I also like the feel of sewing with stiffer fabric-- I think the stitch quality is much improved and it's easier to get a good consistent quarter or scant quarter inch seam. Starch also works great as a temporary glue for cutting multiple layers at a time.

Rob

I don't understand all the "press, don't iron" thing. If the fabric is still whole, it would be an impossible task to press the whole thing. Ironing won't hurt it until it is cut into smaller pieces. I have put marks on my ironing board cover showing where the 12.5 corners are, and line up my squares up to match those. They came in really handy when making the Scrapbasket block, as every edge was on the bias and I had to get the seams exactly into the corner. Worked very well.

Although I have not used this product, maybe some of you members have. It is called FreyCheck (I think). It is supposed to stop or slow down freying.

Frey Check works, used it lots on clothes. At this point it would help the already cut pieces and starch the 10" squares before cutting any more pieces.

Frey Check dries hard. I use Frey Block by June Taylor. It dries soft and flexible and clear.

Fray Check can leave a stain on the fabric, so if you use it on the seams and it creeps over into the quilt block, it will leave a mark on it. I have a hard time using Frey Block by June Taylor. It has a huge hole that the liquid comes out o,f and it ends up everywhere. Maybe others have some hints on using it, but I've given up on it. Now if I have a fabric that ravels a lot, I use a very short stitch. If it has raveled so much that the seam allowance ends up being a eighth of an inch, I run a second line of stitching on the seam allowance close to the first line that has been stitched. I've had to do this once in a while and have had good success with it.

I’m going to use my pinking blade after I’ve stitched my 1/4 inch seam !

If fraying is a big problem then use fusible lightweight interfacing on the back of the quilt top. Many show quilt makers do this to keep the quilt top from stretching or getting wonky before layering and simply to keep the top crisp and smooth.

I'm a fan of StaFlo. But you don't have to use it full strength. I put 4 oz. into a spray bottle, add 12 oz. of water, shake and spray. You can put some of that into a dish if you wish and use your cotton swab or brush.
The spray bottle I have is a Best-Press bottle. Those sprayers last a long time. Mine is at least 5 years old.

The quilt I was talking about in my post 19 is a Paddle Wheel, not Scrapbasket.

I agree with starch. I love my starch and it has helped with so many of my issues.

Yeah- What Rob said! Makes life so much easier when seeking any degree of precision.

I’m making a super king interwoven quilt with 20 yards of fabric cut in 1 1/2 inch strips argh

I must admit to using Fray Check on just about anything with a cut edge. I apply it to all my turned edge applique pieces. I use a smaller needle applicator bottle than what it comes in, so that just a fine edge is applied. This minimizes any stiffness.

For me, the additional time spent in applying the Fray Check is definitely worth it, both for the actual fray prevention and also for the "piece" of mind knowing my quilt will not dissolve in the wash.