Have you ever??
 

Hi everyone,
I have a problem that I would appreciate some help with. I have never used 08" flannel on the back of a quilt before and normally I wash and press all of my yardage. However the thought of washing this large a piece and then trying to get the wrinkles out of does not appeal to me. So what I would like to know is have you ever put flannel on the back of your quilt without washing and has there been any problems because of it. Also I don't want the quilt to be too heavy so should I use batting with the flannel or just the flannel?
I am pretty sure someone else has the answer to my dilemma and I would appreciate your input.
Thanks

I used to not prewash flannel, but then realized how much it shrinks. So now I always prewash. The quilt tends to wrinkle after it's washed if the flannel isn't preshrunk. I don't have a problem with wrinkles in the flannel after it's washed. Hope this helps. Others may have different opinions.

definitely prewash the flannel before you do the quilting.
do your best to smooth it, but don't stress about that.
once you have it all done you will wash it again and run it through the dryer.
you will be pleased to see that most - or all - of the wrinkles are either gone or not noticeable. :)

I'm a believer of prewashing yet I hate to iron! The big pieces are the worst. Try to get it out of the dryer as soon as it is almost dry, do not dry all the way -- that's hard enough with regular fabric and would be a bear with flannel. And while others may not recommend it, with flannel especially I'd have steam in my iron or at least my spritzing bottle handy.

When I have yardage like this I put my ironing board the long way along my couch, using the couch to hold the draped fabric. I first iron along each selvedge edge the width of the ironing board and then go through the middle.

I just prewashed a couple pieces of flannel this morning. I then dried them for about 10 minutes and folded and flattened them and left them on the top of the dryer. I just checked them a short time ago. They are perfectly flat and will not need ironed. I'm very pleased

Flannel shrinks much more than regular cotton. A but of crinkleage in a quilt if to be expected - but I onetime measured before and after and I lost 2 inches over the width of fabric! Yes, the ironing is a bear but I don't think I would be happy to to thru that much work (piecing, quilting, binding) and have that much shrinkage because of the flannel.

10 min in dryer (I set an independent timer) to get it mostly but not all dry. Then just get to work. The remaining moisture self steams.

No I have only made one flannel quilt and definitely pre-washed the fabrics. The amount of shrinkage made it very clear why even on a very large piece it was necessary.

I use wide backing all the time, flannels and regular cotton. I do prewash it because there are often deep set creases in it from the way it is wound on the bolt. I take it out of the dryer before it gets totally dry . I’ve never had to iron it - it smooths out nicely as long as it’s not dried too much. When I have over dried it I’ve tossed it back into the wash for a quick rinse & spin then tried again to get it out of the dryer while still slightly damp

nope--I always wash flannel--shrinks too much otherwise (although there is a big difference in quality out there). I agree that washing and then pressing is a hassle--pull it out of the dryer before totally dry and it's easier to press.

It's a little easier to manage if you fold the piece in half and sew the edges together before throwing it in the wash- I use my serger, but I'm sure a zigzag would be fine. 4 is much easier to manage than 8.