Question about Kona black solid fabric
 

I want to make a quilt with black sashing & want to find a black that does not run/fade. What is your favorite black fabric? Seems like I've heard good things about the Kona fabrics but have never used them. I've also heard that Kona fabric is a bit heavy compared to other fabrics. So, I suppose my question not only deals with bleeding but also the fabric itself. I am planning on pre-washing it before I use it. However, I had some red fabric once (not a solid & not Kona) that I pre-washed a zillion times & it continued to bleed. I haven't used it for anything yet. :( I need to purchase my fabric from Jo-Ann's as I have gift cards from there that I can use. Thanks!

I never had a bleeding problem with Kona black but all dark cotton fabric will show fading sooner then prints.

It isn't that it fades faster, just that its more noticeable because its dark.

I always use Kona but I always wash first and have never had a problem.

I have used Kona black. It does have a heavier hand that I don't like, but it still works just fine in a quilt. One thing I noticed is that it is very "stringy". That is, when I cut it into 2.5" strips, the strips developed a lot of threads fraying along each side.

I much prefer Michael Miller's black, which is a very deep black and has a hand similar to other quilting fabrics. However, it can shrink a lot, so it is a good idea to prewash it and dry it before using (and purchase extra length to make up for the shrinkage).

Yep, my experience had the Kona as more ravelly. I prefer a black tone on tone anyway.

The blacks I get from Walmart and Hobby Lobby do not fade and much cheaper.

I agree with Alicat- it does have a fray issue. If purchased in JoAnns you might check to see if they have it in the 108" bolt- KONA not other brand. Will save you more $$ and you can use your coupons. Of course the drawback of buying it this way is you must be careful when you cut it that you don't get a bow in your strip

I have started using a black batik for my quilts. I love it, and will not go back to regular cotton fabrics.
I always wash it first and have never had problems with it bleeding.

Thanks for all the input. I will see what Walmart has to offer in blacks. I've never really looked at their blacks...only prints. I'll also check out the tone on tone blacks. I never thought about that before. My main issue is with bleeding so I will look around & see what is available. Thanks again....this board is so much help when I have questions!

I made a quilt with large areas of black. I was told I should have used a black batt with that, as it did some bearding when it was quilted; the white of the batt came through to the front with all the needle punches.

I, too, have found that Waverly black from Walmart is a beautiful black. Fabric is smooth and has somewhat of a silky feeling. It does want to ravel, though.

My experience with Walmarts black fabric is that it bleeds alot. Just buy a 1/2 a yard and take it home and put it in your bath room sink and add a little laundry soap and hot tap water and swish it around a little and let it set in the water. Go back and check it in 20 minutes. And you will be surprised how much it bleeds. I always wash all dark fabrics no matter what brand they are just to be on the safe side.

Kona Black is my favorite standby. Never without it, I am just finishing my 4th bolt! I will order two bolts to restock in the next day or so. I've never encountered a problem with Kona Black other than making sure I don't run out of it! Lots of charity quilting goes on here - 100 to 150 tops per year.

When I washed (soaked in hot water for a couple of hours) the Michael Miller black - it shrank over two inches in width, but not much in length. (This was four different pieces purchased at different times.) It does seem to be consistent from bolt to bolt as to its "blackness."

I am currently doing a Jacqueline de Jonge kit that has the nicest black fabric - has good body and not ravelly. I believe is made by Anthology. I found some online at craftttownfabric.com

I have used the Kona black from HL and it has worked well. On the other hand, the Waverly fabric that I used from Walmart for placemats seemed to shrink up quite a bit. (Not black) I did not measure it before I washed the finished placemats but I know they turned out smaller than I thought.

Sorry the correct link is
crafttownfabrics.com

You know, your comments in regards to the weight of Kona fabrics is interesting. I have two experiences with Kona: I ordered a Kona fabric from Fabric.com in a light pink; it was somewhat thin but worked well. I purchased Kona steel-gray from JoAnn's, and it was considerably heavier than what I had previously bought. BOTH of these purchases said "Kona Cotton Broadcloth," and both were used as backing. So, I am really confused about the term "broadcloth," since I was not specifically looking for that. I have researched and cannot find out if Kona 100% cotton fabric and Kona 100% Cotton Broadcloth are EXACTLY the same fabric. Does anyone know? Anyway, the pink worked well, and for that matter, so did the heavier gray, but I would not have wanted to use the grey with some of the "gentler" fabrics I use -Moda, Wilmington, etc. Also, the Kona grey unraveled a lot, so much so that I will be using the leftover in a rag quilt -a quilt I have to date always used only flannels. As for fading or running, I prewashed both, and I had no problem.

I bought nine pieces of the Waverly cottons from Wal-Mart in February 2017. (I think it was around $3.00/yard) I soaked them all in hot water and then washed them in cold and line dried them. I measured the pieces before and after washing them - and the shrinkage was minimal. Less than 1/2 inch in either direction per yard.

I did overcast the edges before dunking the pieces.

I was also happily surprised by how color fast the pieces seemed to be - a bright royal blue, a turquoise, a magenta, a bright orange, a gray, a bright yellow, a lime green.

It is somewhat coarsely/loosely woven - but then I looked at some of the Alexander Henry's available now - and it looked about the same to me.

I did not have much of a raveling problem with it, either.

It was adequate for the fabrics I was using it with.

I misinformed you-all. I found my "record sheet" for those fabrics.

Widthwise shrinkage - ranged from 0 inches to 1-1/2 inches -
Lengthwise shrinkage - ranged from 0 to 1/4 inch per yard.

If you going to use it for border or for cutting blocks you can tear it in half down the grain and not have to put up with the long widths.

I had never know Robert Kaufmann's Kona Cotton to be listed as Kona Cotton Broadcloth before, but did a search and found it listed a lot of sites. Sure doesn't feel like broadcloth to me. I try to us Kona Cotton whenever I use black.