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How to wash a quilt before a show
I am entering a quilt in our county fair next week and have machine quilted it on my mid arm. I need to wash it to get rid of basting glue, threads, dirt, etc. I dont want the crinkly look though because I feel that the quilting will show better. The backing is minky. Can I still just put it through a wash cycle but lay it out on a sheet to block and dry instead of putting it in the dryer? Other ideas? I plan on washing and drying it in the dryer before gifting it but that will be after the fair.
I used W&N for the batting and top is all cotton. |
I would wash with colour catchers and gentle soap. I would put it in the dryer for a few minutes to fluff the Minky but have it still damp to block out until dry. I block on a clean sheet on my spare room carpet with rust proof pins along the edges. I have it taut but not so stretched that the edges have bumps where the pins are. I can shut the door of the room to keep people out and I check on it over a couple of days.
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I've washed quilts in cold water and air dried, and they still crinkled quite a bit. And this is with pre-shrunk fabric and batting. Could you get by with not washing it before the fair?
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You need to block it. Here's a tutorial:
http://fabricbias.com/2008/11/quilt-...hort-tutorial/ Edit: Crinkling depends largely on the batting you used. If polyester, you won't get much of any crinkling because polyester batting doesn't shrink. If cotton, you are likely to get some shrinkage. To keep shrinkage to a minimum, use cold water and dry flat after blocking. Most of the shrinkage occurs from the heat in a dryer. |
If you used Warm and Natural, then you will get some crinkling even if you don't put it in the dryer. If you wash it in cold water, you may get less than if you wash it in warm, but you might still get some.
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Forgot to add...Minky melts with heat so make sure the dryer is on your cool air fluff cycle and just for a few minutes.
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If I don't want crinkly I wash my batting in hot water and dry in hot dryer. I also prewash my fabric in hot water and use hot dryer. I can then wash it after I'm finished and press it without any crinkles. I don't know if cotton thread shrinks that much to make a difference but I use poly to piece and quilt if I don't want any crinkles. Using Minky is an iffy for washing and getting flat and smooth.
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I never washed a quilt before a competition. I always used items that I could remove easily when I had to mark a quilt.
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If you block it with pins, make sure they're rust proof first! :(
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