I always wash flannel before piecing quilts especially when putting on back of cotton fabrics. My question is - what side of fabric do you iron and at what setting?

Thanks for your help - cheryl :thumbup:

I have always ironed flannel as any other cotton fabric...on the right side, and at the cotton setting.

I iron both sides of the flannel and set my steam iron on medium heat.

I am using flannel as a backing right now. I washed it and ironed it - used the setting for cotton and starched it on the wrong side because it is less fuzzy.

The only flannel I've dealt with is Moda marbles and it was quite thick. I believe I ironed on the wrong side with steam (because I do everything with steam). Don't know that it really matters if you prewash and then wash again after completion. JMHO.

Yeap me too. :thumbup:

I alwasy wash flannel before using it because it shrinks more than regular cotton -- and rarely do I find two pieces that shrink at the same rate. (Ask me how I know and how much of a mess I had -- sigh.)

I starch and iron on the front -- unless it is Moda and then I iron on both sides.

I always wash in warm water and dry completely in the dryer to make sure I've shrunk it to the fullest extent (and even that's not an iron clad guarantee.) Upping the water to hot does not seem to make a difference in shrinkage. It's the drying to complete dry that seems to make the most difference.

I iron on the cotton setting with steam. Take care you're just "pressing" and not ironing, which could stretch the fabric out, and you don't want that, because it will "spring back" when given the chance. By that I mean, do more of "lifting and setting down of the iron" than sliding your iron around, until the fabric is mostly smooth on the side you're working on. By then, a little sliding around of the iron won't hurt because the fabric has been "set". And I mean a little, just to smooth things out. Whether I press one side or both depends on how wrinkly the fabric is, how thick it is, and what my purpose is.

Thanks for the tips!!! I appreciate it. cheryl :thumbup: