Question
 

Cotton vs, polyester. Personally I like the sheen of polyester but the true quilters are probably screaming right now. But now I'm wondering how these fabrics will age. Will poly live forever, while cotton will naturally deteriorate? My first quilts were poly/cotton blends. Aging quilts of cotton from years past show deterioration and color loss, especially browns, blacks and some reds. Polyester seems to hold those dyes better. Will the cotton portion of these blends fall apart, leaving only the polyester threads? Why do "real quilters" frown on polyester? --if it's because of the "purist" connection, then it seems to me that the long-arm stitchery, esp pantograph quilting, is not consistent. Just pondering......

I don't like to use poly or poly blend fabric for several reasons.
1. I don't like the feel of it against my skin - even in my clothes I much prefer cotton.
2. It is difficult to get a good crease when pressing
3. The polys and poly blends end up "glazing" with too much heat from the iron.
4. I like the vaster selection of prints and colors I get with cotton
5. I prefer working with the better "behaved" cotton and like the feel of cotton next to my skin.

I do, however, absolutely LOVE to quilt with polyester threads. I prefer poly threads over cotton, especially in the LA. I prefer them for the following reasons:
1. The high speeds at which a LA operates produces a lot of lint in cotton threads. Inevitably that lint will end up getting caught in my bobbin spring and messing up my tension. I do not have this problem with poly threads.
2. I love the variety of weights and looks I can get from poly threads

When it comes to batting I like all. Poly, poly cotton blend, all cotton, wool , silk blends and bamboo. All depends on the application.

I agree with feline fanatic. Didn't we all HATE those polyester suits of the 70s?? One of my first quilts I used polyester thread and it literally shredded the cotton fabrics. Mind you, I do believe that polyester thread has improved in the last 40 years, but I still cringe when I use a polyester thread by Superior because it has such a shinny gold.

Interesting - one of my very favorite outfits - ever - was made of royal purple double knit polyester.

I also like the cotton-polyester sheets (at least 50% cotton blend).

I have made quilts using dual-duty cotton covered polyester that are doing just fine - these are washed frequently and are all over ten years old.

One of the very favorite quilts has brushed Arnel (feels like velvet or velveteen - was used for housecoats and robes)
for the border and backing, t-shirt knit for the binding, cotton prints for the center and Warm and Natural "cotton" batting. It was sewn with Coats & Clark Dual Duty Thread. The brushed Arnel will tolerate STEAM heat up to the line between polyester and cotton. It will melt if it gets overly hot dry iron heat.

The fabrics were probably cut with an Olfa 45 mm or 60 mm rotary cutter with an Olfa blade, after having been washed in my Maytag washing machine with some low fragrance detergent, and then dried in my Maytag dryer. I then sewed them on my Pfaff 1471 with a Schmetz needle - probably an 80 - and I probably used Coats & Clark Dual Duty thread - the cotton covered polyester version. I probably snipped threads with a Gingher scissor. I trimmed the blocks using a template I made from template plastic (9.75 inch squares). I cut the pieces on a 32x60 inch mat by Sew/Fit Company. I used rulers OmniGrid rulers back then, and used a 48 inch aluminum ruler by Fairgate and the 16.5 inch square by Quilter's Rule when doing the final trimming before applying the border.

I am a bit of a purist - I prefer to have all the components of an item have the same care (cleaning) tolerance because - so far - everything I've made has been intended for a lot of use and I expect the items to get dirty.

I also like prefer to have a top made of approximately all the same weight fabrics - denim and corduroy together, as compared to slinky rayon and canvas tarp.

I think people use what they do for some of the following reasons:

1) It is available
2) It is affordable
3) It is what they prefer to use
4) It is suitable for the purpose intended
5) It will hold up to the care needed for it (frequent machine washes in hot water as compared to being behind glass on a wall in subdued lighting)

As far as which fabrics wear out first - even an all-cotton top may wear out unevenly. I made a quilt for my daughter using Kona cottons and "regular quilting cotton" - the Kona has outlasted the other fabric. Big dogs climbing on the bed did not help the survival of the quilt any, but the Kona has held up well. :rolleyes:

I suppose it's an individual choice, like most everything in quilting. Personally, I'm quite happy to be a 'natural' fabric snob, i.e., those made from plant or animal fibers. I just can't imagine making quilts out of petroleum byproducts. Polyester doesn't breathe, it melts and sticks to the skin when ignited, it's non-biodegradable, and I just choose to avoid using it in anything that goes into my quilts - fabric, batting and thread included. :o

I won't even buy tops unless they are 100 percent cotton. Why? Because I live in Arizona and I am always hot and cotton is the coolest. I also quilt with only Cotton.

I like sewing cotton/poly blends. But they are hard to find in the great prints we want for quilts.