Quilting with Satin
 

I am currently doing a stain glass quilt. My husband wants me to do one in satin. Have any of youused stain and if so do I need to do anything special? He wants the shininess of the satin.

All I can say .. is satin is soooo slippery. There is a reason quilters love their cotton!

Most satin also ravels lots. You could use an iron on stabilizer before you cut. I would get a small amount and do some experimentation before you purchase enough for a quilt. Also, it may need to be dry cleaned.

As the others said satin is a tricky one! You will have to have a bit of a play before embarking on anything major. Maybe you could see if he likes cottons with a bit of metallic (that would be easier).

So true. I've used bits and pieces for tissue covers. I generally end up cussing the slipper stuff.
And having said that, if you have the patience sewing wiht the satin, you ought to have a beautiful stained glass picture.

I made a satin princess costume for my daughter many years ago. It ***is*** very slippery! I think it would look great in a quilt, though.

From my limited experience, here's what I recommend (1) Wash the satin before using. It shrank quite a bit. (2) Heavily starch the satin yardage before cutting. My method is to use a 1:1 solution of Sta Flo liquid laundry starch and water, "paint" the starch on using a large wall painting brush, wait a couple of minutes to make sure that the fibers are saturated, toss in dryer, then iron with steam. This will make any fabric fairly stiff and will stop it from stretching and distorting as you handle it, plus it will make it easier to cut the fabric accurately.

If you have problems with accuracy when cutting, try pinning the yardage to paper first; then cut through both the paper and the fabric at the same time.

I would use Elmer's washable glue rather than pins.

If you have problems when sewing, try putting paper underneath (next to the feed dogs). I would imagine that paper made specifically for paper piecing would be the easiest to remove from the stitching lines, but probably any lightweight paper will work. To make removal easier, dip a Q-tip in water and run that along the stitching lines, wait a couple of minutes to allow the water to thoroughly soften the paper, then pull the paper away from the stitching lines.

Edit: Hmmmmm....... I may need to add a satin quilt to my bucket list......

Years ago my daughter wanted me to make her a duvet cover using her stash. I was new to quilting and didn't know any better, so I agreed. She wanted me to use a paisley satiny synthetic, suede, washable velvet, and a velour. And of course, it had to be diamond shapes. What's a mother to do? :o I remember that my walking foot helped, wax paper against the throat plate, it tears away pretty well, and iron on interfacing on the satiny stuff. Wish I had used more interfacing on the other materials. Lots and lots of cussing and walking away. This was back before I had a sewing room, so the whole project took over the dining room table for months! DH was a good sport! Here's the results.
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Then a couple of years ago, I did something similar on a much smaller scale when I made this pillow for a friends 50th wedding anniversary. Same issues, but this time the velvet was the one that gave me a headache.
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This one has a stretch denim with gold threads in it, too.
So my best advice, go slow, walk away when you get frustrated, and have fun!!!! Your DH will love the results.

I got "invalid link" messages on the attachments. Would love to see them!

Have no idea myself, but enjoyed reading everyone's responses. I would have loved to see the attachments Quilter 53 mentioned but the attachments did not work for me. I hope you will keep us informed as you go along and show us works in progress.

It is so sweet of him to want to be involved with your quilting. Yes, satin would look exquisite but I learn when making vest how slippery it can be. And it also does unravel quite a lot. You might want to try making something small before venturing into something that will really make you go nuts !! We quilt for the enjoyment of making beautiful items not to be driven up a wall !!