Yesterday I finished the FMQ on a baby blanket I made using leftover blocks from the prayer quilt I made for my friend. I had 25 blocks I didn't use in my friend's quilt, which made a perfect little 31" square baby blanket. I used Warm and White cotton batting for the first time. It was thin and so it quilted easily. Then I put the binding on and finished it and popped it in the washer. When I got it out of the dryer it had SHRUNK from a 31" square to a 28" square! Or maybe 28.5"... I knew it would shrink some, but this is nearly 10 percent shrinkage! It looks so small. The batting box said to expect, I think, 1% shrinkage, and the paper instructions that come with the batting say there is NO shrinkage with Warm and White. I'm shocked at how small it came out of the dryer!

Is this your experience with Warm and White? Are you getting close to 10" shrinkage?

I will post pics of the baby quilt in the Pictures thread, but here's a preview...

If you didn't prewash your fabric, that may be the cause. I always prewash.

I actually really like the crinkly look, but I'm going to be watching this because I am quilting a baby quilt this weekend with Warm & White. You're right, the package says up to 3% shrinkage, which should have been less than an inch.

Your quilt is still very adorable, I like the flowers you quilted :)

I have never measured before and after washing. I love the look when the quilt shrinks some. It gives it an "old quilt" look that I really like.

I never prewash and I love the crinkled look that the shrinking does. I love the looks of your quilt. I would not be disappointed in the results you got. Beautiful quilt.

It sure looks nice a snuggly.

I wash 95% of my fabrics and the backing before assembling.
The fat quarters are not pre-shrunk and I do not wash my battings before quilting.

I always wash the quilt after the binding is secured. This works for me.

Did you friend's prayer quilt shrink any? I've only used warm and natural. If I preshrink my fabric, the quilt comes out slightly puckery. If I don't pre shrink the fabric, the batting and fabric seem to shrink at about the same rate and is less wrinkled.

I love your quilt. I always use Warm & Natural and love it. I always wash my fabric prior to cutting and never wash my batting prior to quilting. I like to look after washing. Sorry you are disappointed.

It was all prewashed. And I've never had plain fabric shrink anywhere near 10%...

Did you maybe wash it in hot water and/or over dry it in the dryer?

No, my friend's quilt was batted with a poly batting. It's fatter and was much harder to FMQ. She has washed it a bunch of times.

I do love the "old quilt" look, but I'm just surprised at quite how much it shrunk. It's just so tiny! If I had known, I would have added borders before the binding. Next time I'll plan better. This has been a learning experience.

Thank you for the compliments!

I don't know anything about shrinkage, but I love your quilt. It's beautiful. What is a prayer quilt?

I always prewash/dry everything ans still get a little shrinkage. Like the effect of the ripples in the quilting. IMO gives a soft look.

Warm water and just one normal dryer cycle. I'm thinking it's the batting...

what she said

This would make a beautiful quilt for a premie. Our local NICU unit likes quilts 28" - 30" square for the incubators.
The shrinkage of this batting does sound excessive but there is a need for small quilts.

Thanks. It's like a "prayer shawl", made while praying for the person you are making it for. These are usually given to people who are going through some really hard time, usually sickness but not limited to that. Maybe grief... I made one for a friend who is battling breast cancer. She has a really bad type, and is taking a year of aggressive chemo and radiation, following a couple of surgeries. She has more surgery ahead of her, too. God gave me several scriptures to put on that quilt, to build her faith and encourage her. It was all I could do to help her!

The time I spent making her quilt now helps me remember to pray for her daily.

I did the baby quilt in a similar way, with 5 scriptures pertaining to children in 5 of the snowballs. The rest of the snowballs got a flower. It was fun.

I love the look of your quilt. If you think it is to small for a useful quilt. Maybe it could be used as a wall hanging.

that is great

Beautiful Quilt. Sorry to hear you had this problem. I prewash my fabric and always use Warm & White for batting. Never noticed that much shrinkage.

Wow!! That's a lot of shrinkage. But the quilt is absolutely beautiful and even though it's a little smaller than you want, can't you just imagine the little one dragging it around and sucking on a corner! (Linus-like.)

From what I read, there's a lot of difference of opinion on pre-wash. But what I decided is the following:
- Fabric for anything that will be used by a child or donated to a hospital, or for linens (pillowcases, etc.) will be pre-washed in hot water and dried in a normal dryer cycle.
- Fabric for things I will keep or will give to an adult will be pre-washed in warm watter and dried in a normal dry cycle. (Mostly because we have cats and things need washing.)
- Fabric for a wall hanging doesn't need to be pre-washed.

Just my thoughts.

I don't wash my quilts after quilting unless they are for myself....... However, I do love your quilt!

Look at all those crinkles! I think its perfect! great for cuddlin' ~

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and experiences on this. Thank you!

Another thought - was it 31" before you did the quilting or after? The quilting will also make a quilt shrink. I just did one that started at 51x66 and ended at 49x64.

:XD: Sorry about the srinking. I noticed that you have what looks writting on some of the blocks. Are you able to read the words? I think that the quilt looks great. Did you say what the size of the whole quilt is now? If you did sorry, but I think who ever gets it will love it. It's really pretty.

That's what I was thinking.

I never pre-wash, and I never put my quilts in the dryer. Mine don't shrink. I feel that putting them in the dryer causes undue wear, shortening the life of a quilt. The heat of the dryer weakens the threads of the fabric so that it wears faster. With the work that is put into a quilt I don't want them to wear out any faster that normal love would cause.

I have! It was a solid royal blue Country Classics that I bought at JoAnns. Started at 45" wide... and after washing, it was 41" wide.


:-(

Also... Monk's cloth shrinks a LOT too. Not that you'd ever use it for a quilt, of course... but if you were going to use it for a throw of a certain size, that could be a problem.

What a pretty quilt!

31" after quilting. I measured it to cut the right length of binding. After washing it measures about 28.5". I can still read the scriptures just fine.

I'm getting used to it now. Really love the vintage look and feel. I'll just have to plan some extra size next time, to allow for shrinkage.

Thank you all for the compliments, too.

i just wanted to say it is a beautiful quilt. love the crinkle look

I do the same and for the same reason :-)

It's cute, no matter what size it is!

I've never had anything shrink that much no matter what batting I used. I know dense quilting will shrink it a little.

I love the quilt and the look that you got with the shrinkage. Thanks for the warning about the batting, though. I'm sure your friend won't mind that it's a bit smaller than you planned, since it has so much LOVE in it.

Warm and White is my preferred batting. I use it all the time. I never prewash my fabrics unless I buy some cheap, dark fabric and then I wash it. If it bleeds I don't use it. I have never had that much shrinkage using Warm and White. I get a little. But not much.

I love your quilt. I think it's beautiful and I'm sure whoever gets it will love it too. I use Warm and White all the time and love it.

I use Warm and Natural a lot and the last quilt made shrunk more than it ever has in the past. Usually, it is a small percentage. I thought there must be something different about the bolt of batting this came from. Maybe it is time to ask the company some questions.