Linen quilt stiff and hard to handle
 

I have sandwiched for a whole cloth quilt, a primarily linen fabric top, cotton batting and batik for backing

The batik was pre-washed (and boy did it bleed) and pre-washed the linen twice in hot water and Fairy Liquid (equivalent to Dawn) to get rid of some of the sizing. But the combination of the linen and batik is really stiff which is making it hard to FMQ as I can't puddle up the fabric on the table.

Any recommendations on how to soften it up once it is finished? I had planned on a hot-ish water wash and tumble dry (I want the linen to get really wrinkly).

HettyB

Linen shrinks a lot. I use it for costumes and I wash it on warm and tumble dry 3 times. It does get softer but it is heavy. Linen tends to be coarse weave and batik just the opposite.

Did you dry the linen in a hot dryer, or did you hang to dry, or iron it dry? I find when I dry linen in a hot dryer it comes out softer than if I hang or iron it dry.

The linen was air dried out on the line perhaps I should have. Hopefully, it will soften.