My fabric was making me sick too. I had headaches, runny nose, itchy eyes and other signs of cold and flu for two weeks. Finally a lady at the LQS told me to go home and wash my fabric. I did. Took me about a month but where as I could not even go into my sewing room becasue the smell (even with windows open) without sneezing non stop, the washing made all the difference. That was when I educated myself and got introduced to formaldehyde poisoning. I believe my case was mild but long lasting becasue I went so long without doing anything about it. It is common in the textile industry and is most recognized by fatigue, cold and flu symptoms.

with as many people not having jobs ,including myself ,I think that America could have their own fabric manufacturing company in the U.S.***alot of our jobs went to China.

yep...I have about 30 yards to wash and I can not go into my living room for too long until it gets done!

I have heard about stuffing "cuddlies" with lint. Lint is highly flammable and was told never to use it for stuffing in a toy or actually anything - lint is lint and should be disposed of! Edie

Glad to hear that JoAnns made good on their products. I have noticed a huge change it the quality. It's so bad now that for the most part I refuse to use them anymore. If I buy the quilt shop quality, it's great but the selection is poor, so I might as well go do a quilt shop, unless I have a coupon. I'm not familiar with the flannels but I use Hobby Lobby for fabrics more than anywhere else anymore. Fabrics all have formaldehyde in them and my friend has to pre wash all her fabrics no matter where they come from to keep from getting sick with allergy symptom. I wonder if the poorer the quality of fabric, the more stuff they use on em.

I developed the headaches etc after I developed fibromyalgia.. My nose is much more sensitive now its seems. I use to love scented things but now if it isn't a completely natural scent I cannot stand to be around it. The Joann's here doesn't seem to bother me as much as the one in GA did. I can actually walk around the store for more than 15 minutes. But Any fabric or piece of clothing goes from the bag into the washer. I cannot let anything sit in my room for any period of time. I
I hope your feeling better now.

What a shame that our fabric can cause so much illness. I notice that fabrics just don't seem to be the quality we once had. I have started to check the label for the place of origin and rarely find anything from the USA. I can't recall the last time I saw that.

Each year, I seem to experience more and more sinus/allergy type symptoms but I had not thought about the fabric I use. Sunnye, I'm so glad you are feeling better and I now plan to notice if my sinuses are reacting to the fabric I'm using.

looks like we'll now have to sniff and fondle our fabric. I've noticed some of the smelly stuff too. Seems like it's in the really dark colored prints or maybe just the one I saw.

Hope you are feeling better. This shows chemicals are very potent and can be dangerous for some. I am glad that the store was very cooperative. Please stay away from these types of materials in the future.

I have chemical allergies & copd, so have to be very, very careful. I've been told that imported clothing, fabric, yarn, etc is treated with insecticide before being allowed into the country. I believe that because I can smell it. I'm not able to stay in fabric/yarn stores for very long without choking up, & anything I buy, my DD washes for me with washing soda. Even the yarn - we tie the skeins up in old panty hose legs & put through washer & dryer - if it can't be machine washed & dried, i don't buy it. I can get good quality homespun natural fibers from independent producers in this country but the cost is so prohibitive I only do that for very, very, special gifts.

hugs
Shirley in Indiana