Grain of fabric vs pattern on fabric!
 

I have a print piece of fabric that is not lining up. I cannot figure out if it is printed not straight with grain or if I made it wonky when I pressed it. I’ve tried spraying it and truly pressing it (making sure not to iron but only press) and it’s not straightening up. Is there any way to tell? If it’s printed askew, I’ll cut off grain and follow the pattern because it looks terrible otherwise. If I ironed instead of pressing and messed it up myself, will re-washing help?

Any real life experience or darn good guess welcome as this is really frustrating me.

thanks!

Marilyn

I pay absolutely No attention to grain, unless it's for long borders. I honestly don't think grain matters much in quilting because we cut the fabric up into small pieces anyway.

Thanks for replying Peggi, I may have made a mistake in using the word grain.

I fold the fabric salvage to salvage, adjust a bit right or left to get a nice straight hang, match my bottom fold to a line on my cutting mat, make my cut to have a straight edge to measure from. Ok, now my straight edge and the line of my pattern on the fabric are a 1/4 or better from each other on one end of the fabric but line up nicely on the other end.
I hope I explained it better!?!

very very often the print is not "printed" on the fabric correctly during the manufacturing process. If you are making projects that require straight of grain such as clothing or drapery, then ignore the incorrect printing. If you are making projects that require matching the print such as quilting or applique, then ignore the grain.

I’ve found a lot of patterned fabric not printed tru to grain , as Jane quilter says, for quilting I sometimes ignore the grain, hasn’t messed up a quilt yet.

I think the only way you are going to be able to tell if it's mis-printed is to tear an edge. That will give you true straight of grain and let you know if you or the printing are off. Just my thoughts.

look at the back of the fabric.

see if the print follows one of the threads or wanders off

if it wandered off, it was printed off-grain and the options are
- do not use the fabric
- cut it on grain and have the print look wonky
- cut it to follow the print and ignore the grain lines

i think grain line matters - especially on the outside edges of a block - because straight of grain is,less stretchy than a bias edge. generally speaking, crosswise grain is stretchier than lengthwuse grain.

doreen speckmann suggesting cutting sashing on the crosswise grain because it was easier to "fudge" if one needed to ease in a slightly larger block.

Thank you for all the responses, they help. I agree that so many are printed off, but many designs are not obvious like this one.

I want to figure out if I am doing it with my pressing so I can stop! We, as humans, shoot ourselves in the foot enough in life, I don’t need to be doing it with my means of relaxation :)

You should be able to tell if the print is wonky by looking carefully at the print next to the selvedge. Does it have a repeat that you can identify? If, for instance, the pink flower with one petal longer than the others, and facing down, is 2" from the edge in one area, it should be 2" from the edge where it repeats.
I have purchased a lot of precuts that aren't cut on the straight of the grain. It's aggravating, but, as Peckish said, it doesn't really matter much once it is cut and sewn. I would doubt that you are skewing it off that much by pressing/ironing.
You could try dampening the fabric and letting it dry naturally, hand smooth it, then see where the pattern is.

I think this is a problem in the printing, not your ironing. It is very hard to stretch or distort the selvages, so your method should leave things lined up if they were printed straight to begin with.

Depending on the length of fabric you're working with, and the width of your cuts, you may be able to "absorb" that quarter inch difference in the cutting (if a strip is 2 1/2" at one end, and 2 15/32" at the other, it probably won't affect your piecing). If the pattern is very obvious, this might be the way to go. You might have to cut selvage to selvage without folding in order to follow the pattern.

Without knowing what the fabric is and how it will be used, it's hard to offer suggestions on how to deal with it. Everyone who said to ignore the grain is right, IMO. Just don't worry about your ironing technique; this is most likely a manufacturing issue, not you!

From your description it sound like it may just be how it was cut off the bolt. I do the same thing, folding selvage to selvage and it's pretty common that they are "off" by and inch or so. Some might be the way it was printed but it could also be how it was wound on the bolt. Like Peckish, I don't worry so much about the grain if I'm trying to match up something, I just try to take a little extra time and be careful not to pull on the bias...and I starch the heck out of it! :)

I would tear one edge. This will give you straight of grain. If the design is still off, it was printed that way and has nothing to do with your pressing.

I had this happen to me. The fabric was printed off grain but I didn't know that when I bought it. It was a panel fabric with rhombuses instead of squares. I didn't know that until I cut the "squares" out. So, I went to different shops and bought the same fabric...three times! Well, finally someone explained to me that all the bolts in that line would be printed off grain. How silly if me to not figure that out. I loved that fabric. So, I just added extra coordinating fabric to square the rhombus up...and I made that fabric into three quilts.

So, for me, it was important to focus on the design and deal with the off grain issue with either starch or adding extra fabric to square it up. Othewise, the design on the fabric would have been chopped up and that would have ruined the quilt.

Yes I have found the same problem, not printed square. The grain doesn't matter because of all the quilting. It doesn't 'hang' as it would as a dress or other clothing.

Even though I’ve posted other pics without a problem, I can’t get these to upload so can’t show my problem....
I’ll keep trying though

cut Straight on right side

I cannot get the cut straight on pattern, off on ruler grid pic to load!

What I would do....Follow the pattern on this one but starch it really well before carefully cutting....no steam since that may distort... Any wonky alignment issues on edge should be absorbed in seam allowance. Also, attempt to not stretch fabric when piecing and sewing....keep it stiff and if you have to make pieces a bit bigger, you can just trim your piecing as you go. I've done that on bias piecing and it works for me. Takes longer but end result is better.

This is why I avoid fabric with an obvious stripe or pattern line. It is rarely printed straight on the fabric. If I'm using smaller pieces I go with the print rather than the grain. I would never use a stripe going lengthwise for a border for this reason.

From your photo I'm going to suggest it is definitely printed off-grain. Unless you are using this for a long border I would not worry about grain with this particular fabric and cut with the design. AND use lots of starch!

I really appreciate everyone’s help with this, thank you.

Calico fabrics (quilting cottons) are ‘printed’. Just like a rubber stamp. Many times the actual cloth is pulled unevenly in the printing process. The only was you can get a true straight of grain on the fabric design is to find a woven print. The better quality fabrics are much closer to lining up prints

I see what you're talking about. What are you doing with this fabric? If you cut it small enough I don't think you'd have any problems with it.

I found that mostly when working with plaids and gingham. Never seems to straight across the same plaid line. Even when I straighten it with the salvages.

Leah Day has a great tutorial on you tube for getting your fabric straight. Then you'll know if its the print or the fabric.

Today's fabric is not made as it was 'back in the day'. Almost every shift at work, I will have a fabric that I have to cut straight, but the pattern is off. I usually add a bit (and then write the couple inches off as damaged) so the customer has the option of cutting with the pattern or the grain. Personally, if the pattern is close, I don't worry about the grain and if it is really off, then I will purposely cut weird (like a bias cut).

I agree. :thumbup:

I am piecing a back to make a double sided quilt and still figuring out the design. Once I realized the problem, I was waiting to decide once I figured out if/how to use this fabric.