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.

Well I did wash the flannel and it turned out to be more of a disaster than what I expected. First let me say I don’t dry any of my fabric completely I have always taken it out when damp and pressed it. Now my mistake with this was that because I wasn’t going to wash it I had put a border on the wide back which I didn’t think would be a problem. So I washed it and it completely disintegrated at the seams! This quilt is at the point of putting it in the trash. I’m just so tired of all the problems I’ve had with it. This is the third backing I’ve purchased and there was a problem with each of them.
No one has responded to the question of whether it would be too warm with both batting and flannel? Thanks for your response.

I hear and feel your frustration! Some projects just don't go well, some of my current success as a quilter come from the past 40 years of bad stuff... Did the border itself disintegrate or was it just the flannel? I'd just cut it off at the stitching line and restitch, using a 1/2" on the flannel side. Typically any seams on the back should be 1/2" and pressed open anyway.

Too warm depends on your local... being an ex-Alaskan and current soggy Seattle-ite I always use batting with flannel but I personally hate working with flannel so avoid it when I can. Last year though I did a crib sized donation project with a flannel back (and batting) which reconfirmed to me that I just don't want to deal with it.

Sometimes I use flannel instead of batting. There is still hope for future projects with the rejected backings.

I wash my flannel backs at least 3x, dry in the dryer, use the laundry mat dryer, do not dry all the way, hang on a clothesline to straighten the grain line. It is a pain in the butt, but do you want the quilt to shrink up and be wonky? Flannel is tricky but nice in the winter where you live.
If you have a surger use it to seam the seams on the flannel.

I sewed a green border onto the wide back using a half inch seam allowance both of them frayed in some places to the seam line. I almost used my serger but decided I wanted the seams flat that is why I just sewed it. I just have to get this done I don’t like when it’s just dreading to work on it. Some how I will prevail.
Iceblossom I feel about fleece the way you feel about flannel. Thanks for letting me know about the batting.

Flannel makes a great liner/batting for warmer areas. Again, especially flannel that's been washed and even dried to death, you don't want it to shrink or bleed. Maybe it is just one of my biases against flannel but I feel it bleeds terribly, I've had red flannel "crock" into a white background Christmas print it was stored next to.

Just wanted to share that last week I was doing some costuming work with high quality flannel. Because I didn't have patterns I was using large (1") seams and had my pinking shears out and realized none of us mentioned pinking yet. It's been about 20 years since I did anything other than quilting, and my hubby had never seen the shears -- we've been together and married for over 15 years. But it's another thing to help.

Some people seem to have a knack with flannel I don't have. I love my flannel nighties, but I just don't like working with it!