Minky Fabric
 

I just have a question. Has anyone used Minky fabric and does it shrink when washed? Should I wash it before I use it for a quilt?

Thanks

I made two items with Minky. They were both little "tag" blankets for babies. I did not wash it. I made them for two of my grandchildren. To my knowledge they have never been washed because the babies didn't take to them. Personally I don't like Minky. I think it's very difficult to work with!

I made lap quilts for my DD and DIL for Christmas and used Minky for the back, the "dot" style, not the plush. I didn't do any fancy quilting, just SITD on one with tacks in the center and a serpentine stitch on the other. I washed them when done and they came out fine. I spray basted them. You can see them in the thread "test for loading pics"....don't know how to post a link to it! I was trying to test how they would look and ended up with the final post under that title and was very disappointed!

test for loading pics

Don't know if that will work or not!

Sorry, I'm not going to be helpful. Sorry, but I dont know what minky fabric is.

I have used minky on 5 quilts and love it...I do not wash my fabric and do not wash the minky before quilting it. My trick to prevent the cotton from shrinking is only washing the quilt in cold water and putting in dryer on delicate cycle until it is almost dry...I let it hand dry for the remainder. The minky shouldn't shrink no matter what b/c it is polyester, but my concern is making sure that the cotton top and batting don't shrink. I find that if you by the minky (or minkee) brand it is easy to work with, but if you get something like soft and cuddly, it can be difficult to work with when you sew the binding on....

I have made several quilts with minkee backing, quilted on the DSM and LA. It is not that difficult to work with, just watch and do not stretch it. It is 100% polyester and does not shrink. I do wash cotton fabric before I use it and have washed minkee also.

I know others have used minkee or other fleece type fabrics on the backs of their quilts and have been very pleased with the results- that isn't something I would do - it stretches easily and I like to have more quilting than just straight lines on my quilts.

Pollytink, your quilts turned out lovely!

Ahhh I didn't realize Minky was polyester..that would make sense then that it wouldn't shrink. I've never used anything other than regular 100% cotton fabric, not even flannel, so I'm new to other fabrics. Thanks everyone for your input! :)

I love minkee. It makes for a very soft and cuddly quilt. The trick is to spray baste. 505 is the best. And you don't want to do close, fancy quilting on it like you would a wall hanging. I have found that using batting and minkee together makes a heavy, too warm quilt. I personally like using flannel instead of batting when using minkee for backing. And if I know a quilt is going to be tossed around alot and dragged on the floor, I will use a sturdy fleece for the backing.

It is messy when cutting it. That's when a vacuum comes in handy. And I always wash minkee before using it. Especially the last minkee I bought. The bolt had been sitting on the floor of the fabric store.