Please share your tips when using flannel
 

Besides preshrinking and using a 1/2" seam allowance, do you have any other suggestions/tips when sewing/quilting with flannel? I would like to use it as the backing on my next quilt. THX in advance!

those are the best tips.

i love flannel backings so much!

i recently used the left over bits of years of pyjama flannel. i was nervous about the quality, but then as i thought about it....i wash and dry jams about 5000000 times before they tear. why would using them in a quilt be a bad idea? the quilts get washed maybe twice a year right?

i think it's pretty ugly, but by the time i got here i just wanted to sleep under it. it's growing on me, warm night by warm night!

aileen

If you plan to machine quilt, my best tip is to heavily starch the flannel backing before layering. This will stabilize the flannel so you don't get puckers and tucks. My method is to mix a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water, "paint" this on with a large wall painting brush, wait a few minutes to make sure that the flannel absorbs the starch, toss in dryer, then iron with steam.

Thanks for that tip. Never thought to do that.

As a follow up on this question, do you LA folks have any tips for sewing with flannel. Either using all flannel, cotton on top and flannel on bottom or combining.

As far as pre washing goes, make sure you wash it until it stops shrinking. Measure it before you start and when you take it out of the dryer (both wof, and cut length measurements). I've had several pieces that took 3 wash dry cycles before it was done shrinking. The up side is that it will get thicker and softer with each washing.
I lightly starched my flannel backing and had no issues long arming it.

I wash and dry flannel 3X to make sure it's done shrinking too. Then I spray starch it. I love using flannel for backings! I bought some adorable teacup/coffee mug flannel years ago to make cute pj's from which I just came across, might have to put that on my winter to-do list.

I recently completed an almost all flannel quilt. All but a few borders were flannel. I didn't treat it any differently than I treat any other quilting fabric I use. I prewashed only once and used a 1/4 seam allowance. both front and back were pieced. I used only LQS quality flannel which tends to shrink less and not fray as badly as less expensive flannels. They are noticibly thicker and did not shrink too much in the prewash. there was a small bit on the back which was a walmart flannel sheet. I used that to get my backing big enough for loading and some of it ended up visible on the back. I had no problems. It did, however, weigh a ton! How it holds up to washing remains to be seen. It was gifted to my brother so I am sure I will hear about it if it starts falling apart.

I LA it on my Innova. My rack is a 4 pole/roller rack so I have no issues with tons of seams on the backing. Other LA, those that only have a 3 pole rack, may and would curse a back as heavily pieced as mine was. But it was my own quilt and my own LA so I took as many liberties as I wanted. :)
As an aside, when customers give me pieced backs it doesn't bother me either. I just give up front warning I can't perfectly center it over the front. I will do my best and usually come within a few inches but it won't be exact.

Here is a link to pictures I posted of it. http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...t-t200665.html

Oops! I am quilting one now with flannel back and only pre-washed once. I'll see what happens. Live and learn.

On my LA, I have found that flannel on the back is harder to do with ruler work. The pressure on the ruler causes the flannel to want to cling to the base. You have to have a light touch on the ruler.

I have found that it is wise to use a smaller stitch size with flannel especially with rag quilts.

How interesting. I have not experienced this and have quilted several flannel backs. The quilt I did front and back had tons and tons of ruler work. It was mostly SID so I used my straight ruler a lot.

It may not be a problem, especially if the quilting lines are not far apart. I was in a Harriet Hargrave class where she showed us a flannel quilt she had made to prove that even flannel did not need to be prewashed for a quilt. Her point was that, once it is quilted, it is the batting that controls shrinkage. She measured her quilt before and after washing, and the shrinkage was even and the amount expected from the batting (which in her case was, I think, Hobbs 80/20). The quilt was nice and soft and not distorted at all.

My very first quilt about 10 years ago, was flannel trip around the world with 3" finished squares. what was the teacher thinking? Anyway, it wasn't prewashed and it wasn't starched and I used a 1/4" seam. I used warm and natural batting and a flannel backing. Stitched in the ditch. It has held up great. I guess it might have shrunk when I washed it, but, my granddaughter loves it. She is 9 and a half and still has it on her bed between her big girl blankets. It has been washed a gazillion times (well maybe not that much) and it is still in good shape. Now when I use flannel I wash it a few times and put it in the dryer. I still use 1/4" seams. I am not a starcher even though I have three different kinds.

So glad for this thread. I've been scared to use flannel up until now because I didn't know how to work with it. But now
I think I'll give it a try! Thanks for this tip!

Be sure to check and clean out the bobbin area of your machine *frequently* when piecing flannel; it creates a lot of lint!

I live in the humid south where winters are mild and summers are just plain hot! I like to to make what I guess they used to call "summer quilts" with no batting and use flannel for the backing. It makes for a comfy cozy quilt that really breathes. If I use quality flannel I don't prewash (unless it's a deep color that might bleed) it will shrink and still give that puckered old fashioned look I love so much.

And ditto on the checking for lint. Even prewashed flannel makes a TON of lint. I've gotten in the habit of lifting out the bobbin case and giving the area a quick brush EVERY time I change the bobbin, no matter what I'm sewing. Between projects, I take off the throat plate as well the upper cover (needle area) and clean the lint out of everything I can reach with a lint brush.

That is my main TIP also..................clean the machine before you start......and about every half bobbin, or anytime you take a break from sewing....clean, clean,clean especially if flannel is not prewashed and dried in dryer.....packed up lint and fuzz is terrible for your machine. killer for sure !

I press the seams open on flannel. Less bulk!.

I just love all the information I get from all of you seasoned quilters. I appreciate it so much. One question, can you buy flannel for backing in the 108" size? Or do you have to piece all the time?

Interesting reading here. I have only bought flannel from my LQS so its decent quality--I have had it distort so much. The pieces were pre-printed with great pictures and I was making baby blankets. I pre-washed and it was so distorted. They said sometimes it comes off the roller distorted. But this has happened more than once so now I don't pre-wash and deal with it later. I have had to go back and buy more fabric to make backing fit.

When I make quilts I use a walking foot for piecing or a Pfaff with the built-in walking foot. Pin everything to death, this stuff is kinda stretchy.
Sharon

Thanks for the tips.

I usually only wash my flannel in hot or warm fabric once, then dry it on medium. I have not had any problem but then everyone I know washes their quilts in cold/cool water with fabric softener with no problems.

I use flannel as backing for quilts a lot and have never pre washed more than once and have never had a problem. I love flannel backings as they are so soft and cuddly.

I'm so glad I saw this post. I like to use flannel on my quilt backs but have such a hard time keeping from getting that stretchy, tucks, puckers look. I have tried basting with clamps, basting sections at a time, basting the whole thing with tons of pins - nothing makes it easier. I do pre-wash my flannel, but never thought to starch it. I will try this next time!

I used flannel backing for a top with regular cotton. I didn't pre-wash. It shrunk about five inches in length. That was ok, since it gave a great crinkle effect and since the quilt did not have to be any particular size. That was before I heard you should pre-wash flannel. But since the end result was perfectly fine with me, I don't think I will pre-wash in the future.
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