I've a friend that wants me to make a Q-K size quilt using fabrics from her son's clothes. It will be mixed with quilting cottons, but you know kids clothes...it's tees, onesies, maybe a lil flannel...

Can I do a string quilt with a muslin foundation WITHOUT putting fuseable on the back? Or would I still have to do that? Plan to machine quilt after it's all done....

i don't see why not if it has a muslin foundation. i would just shrink everything first, if possible, so there's as little uneven shrinkage as possible later.

let us see it it's done. it sounds like it will be interesting.

edit: especially shrink the flannels. wash a few times in hotest water.

There is a tricot iron on interfacing that is sodt and very lightweight. If you used it crosswise in grain from the grain in the knits, I would think they would be both soft and stable.

You DO NOT NEED any fusible when making a string quilt. This is my favorite for strips. I have even used old cotton sheets as a foundation or really, really ugly fabric. As long as it doesn't show through your strips. The purpose of the foundation is to make it easier to handle the bias edges. So go ahead and make your string quilt with no fusible. You'll save money and weight. Also, when I make a string quilt I use the very thinnest batting. They make great summer quilts if you don't use any batting.

Thanks, ladies!

I did a memory quilt "nap quilt" for her mum last year and did it all in pinwheels. It turned out great, but to find pieces of fabric big enough for pinwheels was tough. And I'm using some of the clothes left over from that.

Joanie...I know for just string quilt I wouldn't need to, but with the addition of stretchy fabrics, I was nervous. Getting the stretchy to lay down on the muslin and get sewn to the "not stretchy" will be difficult...should I expect problems when I quilt? If it's floating like that, without a stabilizer?

Is your stretchy fabric jersey? I would think that if you did not pull that fabric as you were sewing it to the muslin you would not have any issues. Once the block is completed and attached to the muslin you should not have any issues with quilting. Remember to make the initial blocks slightly larger than you want them so that you can cut them down to the size you want. You might also consider doing a machine basting stitch around the blocks before you sew them together.

great info