Sewing flannel to regular cotton
 

I bought a lot of a really cute flannel doggie print to make aProject Linus quilt. (For a boy, since the coordinator said they're harder to come by--"everyone wants to sew for babies and girls,"she said).

I'm thinking of fussy cutting the dog faces about to 6" or so, and framing each one with coordinating colors of regular quilter's cotton solids. Hence a "square within a square" style. And using the bulk the flannel piece as the back. I have only ever sewn flannel as a backing ( after washing it for shrinkage). And it is fine.

My question is, how does the fabric perform when you mix the flannel with cotton? Will the quilt be fine or will it wash and dry with a resulting pucker or unevenness? My idea is geared toward the child being able to pet the soft doggie faced in each "picture" frame. Thought it'd be wise to ask first what you all have to advise.

If everything has been washed and shrunk BEFORE cutting it, I think it is a great idea and will be a cute quilt.

Makes as much sense as using flannel for backing and "regular" fabric for the front - it all gets washed and dried at the same time.

They should work fine together. However, you really need to wash and machine dry the flannel twice to let it shrink before using it. Flannel can shrink a LOT more than quilting cottons, so it's a good idea to let it do what it needs to do before you start cutting it. The shrinkage tightens the weave too, which is a good thing.

After washing and drying for shrinkage, I highly recommend that you starch the flannel yardage heavily. I use a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water applied with a large wall painting brush on yardage, allow a couple of minutes for the fibers to absorb the starch, toss in dryer, then iron with steam. This stiffens the flannel and stabilizes it so it won't wiggle and stretch while you sew it to the cotton. Only after starching would I fussy-cut the dog faces.

It is not necessary to pre-wash the quilting cottons unless you like to do that. The amount they shrink is very small compared to how much flannel can shrink. Assuming you do a moderate amount of quilting (lines at least 3" or 4" apart), everything will hold together just fine.

I think your idea of soft doggie faces in frames is terrific!

I have had quilting cottons shrink over two inches in width (Michael Miller black, for one).

Just make sure to pre-wash both fabrics, otherwise it should work out fine.

It should be fine. I would either make larger seams or quilt close to the flannel seams as it may fray easier. I did a close topstitch when I worked with homespun and regular cotton. Just a precaution to make sure my work held together for a long time

I have had very sturdy, close woven flannels - and I have come across very loosely woven, thin flannels.

I agree with all the above. If in doubt, wash and dry everything twice using warm water and hot dryer.

Thank you all for your advice. I will wash it twice in warm water and use a hot dryer, lots of starch, tight stitches, and a generous (not scant) 1/4" seam. Does that sound like all the bases are covered?

Just wash and dry (in the dryer) the flannel twice before you cut it. That takes care of the shrinkage, so you ought to be just fine mixing a regular cotton with cotton flannel.

I agree with the idea of washing both fabrics!