MASSIVE shrinkage - beware
 

Washed 108" backing fabric in hot water, dried on hot - and it shrank down to 97" wide. Yup, that is 10% shrinkage. By the time I removed the (rather wide) selvages it was down to 94" useable width. Aaaargh! (It is part of the Henry Glass "Baroque" line, just so you know.)

Alison-Now-Going-To-Plan-"B"-For-The-Backing

Oh no! That's not good but thanks for the warning.

Why did you wash it in hot water?

Aaaargh! I feel your pain wow I never wash my fabric before using unless I feel there is going to be an issue with bleeding. And I am curious why is shrank that much maybe washing and drying on hot??? I hope you can figure out a good solution for the backing now. I think I would contact Henry Glass and let them know what happened and if they have had others have the same issue with that particular fabric.

"Alison-Now-Going-To-Plan-"B"-For-The-Backing"


I love your sense of humour, given the situation! Sorry it happened to you.

That is a HUGE amount of shrinkage...usually it is 2-4%...I wonder if the manufacturer knows how much it shrinks?

i have to ask too....why did you wash it in hot water? did you have a (bleeder)? were you going for maximum shrinkage?
i purchase and pre-wash wide backings all the time- some shrink a bit more than others- but i don't wash anything in hot water unless i want it to shrink as much as i can possibly make it...
was it a loose weave?
i bet if you check their website and check the (care instructions) for that fabric line it probably tells you to wash in cold water or maybe warm water- i've never bought a quilting fabric that when checking the care instructions says to wash in hot water....

I see on fabric.com they recommend this fabric be washed in COLD water. Now I don't know about anyone else but my quilts get washed just like the rest of my laundry. I don't think I would use a fabric that could only be washed in cold in any of my quilts. That is just a ridiculous idea for a fabric manufacturer of QUILTING fabric to make fabrics that could only be washed in cold water. Sounds like they already know there is an issue with shrinkage. Sorry this happened to you.

Oh no!!! So sorry!! I always prewash my fabirc but have never use hot water. Again I am so sorry this happened to you!!!

curious to the reason behind washing in hot water and drying in a hot dryer. I don't wash anything in hot water except maybe periodically my whites. But even then, I still dry on med heat.

My quilts I wash cold water/gentle cycle and dry on perma press cycle.