Thoughts on using poly/cotton or polyester for quilting projects.
 

Local fabric store has a new shipment of poly/cotton fabric in beautiful colors also full polyester fabric. I've always used 100% cotton. What are your thoughts? Suggested patterns? THanks!

Poly/Cotton pills. Polyester is hot when it's hot & cold when it's cold.

I forgot about the pilling issues. I know polyester is used for garments but wasn't sure about quilting. Thanks for your reply Mdegenhart.

Here is the simple answer: Cotton is natural, polyester is 100% chemical... Cotton is warm in winter and cool in summer, polyester is just hot all year long. Polyester is harder to sew with and get a nice crisp seam when pressed as the (basically plastic) fabric will try to spring back to where it was. Cotton, once it is pressed flat, it is pressed. Dyes in cotton are applied, polyester, they are put in the chemical before they are extruded.

Personal preference, cotton all the way!

I have cotton polyester sheets that are threadbare - and they have never pilled.
D

I'm using poly sheets that feel like cotton in a quilt I'm making for my daughter. Economy was a factor. : ). I bought them at Anna's when I couldn't find black sheets at my local thrift store.

Handle with care and don't let your iron get too hot and things should be fine.

It did not take me long to give up using the poly/cotton scraps from garment sewing to make a quilt. Each step from cutting to piecing to pressing was a problem compared to 100% cotton. It tends to slip and slide.

I'm sure all above statements are true, but I love these. I don't think I would make one but I like to find the tops at sales and finish with nice cotton back and sent out for cheap panto. :thumbup: Once you get under one of them you stay under it. LOL they are heavy.

Found this one
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Grandmother made this one.
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Jack sure put the panto close together for me on the string quilt.

I am told Grandma had sent the bottom pic out for hand quilting.

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The cotton/poly blends are great for kids drag around quilts. They hold up to lots of ( abuse) forts, picnics, sleep overs, car trips. Take a beating, lots of laundering, don't fade, are terrific. If you want to make utility quilts that will be used, laundered, loved for a long time polyester and poly/cotton blends are the way to go. My kids, 39 & 36 yr.olds, still have the polyester quilts my grandmother made them in 1980, the colors are still vibrant, those quilts went camping, picnics, built hundreds of forts, spent lots of time on floors, ground. The blends will not make soft, wrinkle, fade with time, cotton quilts, but they will make good utility, use a lot quilts.

Your Grandma's quilts are so bright and colorful! Thanks for showing.

What great replys. Thank you all.

I know that they have improved the quality of polyester thread and fabric but there is nothing better than 100% cotton at least in my mind. Too old to change.

I used a poly/cotton for the backing on a donation quilt. It slid around on the batting making it impossible to fmq without getting puffs and puckers. NEVER AGAIN will I touch polyester for quilting.

I use Dream Queen poly batting mainly because cotton anything shrinks. If you pre-wash all fabric, AND batting it is great. I pre-wash to shrink my fabric, then use the Dream Queen poly batting because it won't shrink. I don't wash my quilt when finished because the fabric is all pre-washed, no smoke, no pets, and my quilt never lays on the floor because I quilt as you go. I will add some additional information while I am at it -- it is the pounding in the dryer that shrinks cotton, not the hot water in the washing machine. Learned this from sheep farmers where I used to live.

I have also used cotton/poly blends in quilts and they worked great and are still going strong. Never used 100% poly though so can't vouch for that.

I've been working with some donated poly/cotton lately and did not encounter any of the problems that have been posted. Kept my iron on a low enough setting.... pinned my sandwiches about every 4" ... the tops were poly cotton scrap pieces that had been donated.... then I pieced my batting with warm and natural cotton scraps.... then I used polyester fleece chunks that I had salvaged from previous backings...pieced them together.... http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...t-t264309.html

PS... usually I use 100% quilt shop quality fabrics in my quilts but that doesn't mean that you can't use whats available or affordable if you don't have those

Using poly cotton in a quilt that will be used a lot is an invitation to trouble. The poly cuts the cotton the the quilt wear out really fast. Before I knew what I was doing I made a quilt with poly cotton, all the fabric was from the same line and at seam lines it rubbed holes in the quilt. For a wall hanging maybe.

Interesting comments. A lot of men' s dress shirts are made of cotton-poly blends.

The first place that shows wear is on the collar - as on the all cotton and wool shirtd.

I have 3 quilts my great grandmother made in the 50's and 60's that are poly blends and they have been in constant use for 50+ years and have been in every imaginable location, including out in the rain and the only thing that has needed repair is the hand quilting where she used cotton thread that had rotted from being wet too long, too often.

I did some quilting on a quilt that used both 100% cotton and all polyester fabrics for a friend. It was very difficult because they did not lay flat the same way. The lesson I learned is not to mix them together. I seldom use polyester or polyester blends now.

Polyester will outlast cotton everyday of the week. I have no problems using it, I just would not mix it with cotton.
It sews very easily. Some quilters only like cotton. Use what you want, your quilt, your way.

I am a child of the depression and my theory is...use what you have. Put like fabrics with like fabrics and quilt away. Several of my family have quilts made of the old thick polyester and they would fight you for them, also denim, poly blends, plisse, flannels, etc. can all be used in quilts.

I think is is really a personal decision. I have only quilted for a few years, but have sewn garments for over 50. I found out early on that the poly or poly with cotton was the way to go with clothes because of the wrinkle problem. I normally find that the poly or blends give me more control of the fabric when it comes to pressing. I just pick out what color or print I like and do not worry about the fabric content.

I guess I am not a purist when it comes to quilting, but I have always been happy with the fabrics of my creations. I have more of a problem keeping a 1/4 inch seam and not cutting off my points! Technique is my problem, not the fabrics I use.

This board has been a great help to me in trying to master this new hobby.

Phyllis

It wears different - as quilttiger said, I think they're just fine to use but I wouldn't mix them either (unless maybe in a wall hanging) because eventually the cotton parts will start to weaken but the poly parts won't, and that will make your aging cotton rip easier. Plus the cotton will fade but the poly won't.

I do make special quilts with 100% quilters cotton and the best thread I can afford. BUT as a keen repurposer/recycler, there is not a fabric I won't put in a utility/fun/car/couch quilt. All good clothing goes to charity, but if it's not nice/good enough for donating I cut all the usable pieces and make quilts. Funnily enough, they often turn out better than my 'proper' quilts....I have a lot of fun messing around and practicing new techniques....guilt and pressure free so to speak. I have even used my (now retired) husband's work clothes, high visibility yellow adds a funky touch. I am highly critical of my quilts, but somehow, my waggas (Aussie quilts) and utility quilts seem a bit more special to me....

I still prefer to have a top made of only one type of fabric - mainly for the reasons of - will it wear out at about the same rate - and - how to care for it (washability).

For some odd reason, it does not bother me to have a different type of backing from the top - as long as both sides are washable.

Totally agree with ckcowl. Poly quilts last forever. My mother made them in the late 60's, early 70's and they still look new. Her grandchildren and greatchildren drag them, camp with them, love them now and will for years to come. I just don't enjoy piecing with poly. I have machine quilted a few for customers and had no problem.

Your quilt, your rules. Our ancestors, mainly, used what was available.

I've used tons of poly cotton...sure you can use it. But there is a difference between it and cotton.

Some of the poly cotton I've used doesn't iron well. Other irons just fine.

Poly double knit is VERY, very hard to FMQ on a domestic machine. Yikes...I was given some quilt tops to finish that were double knit. I will gently refuse any more. They don't move easily and weigh a ton.

(And I hate touching the stuff!)

However...poly cotton I will use and probably will continur to use. Not all poly cotton pills, but some does.

Given for all the negatives about the double knit--it will last forever, so to speak. All have been quickly chosen (as charity quilts here in Poland - I give recipients a choice from at leat 10 quilts--sometimes as many as 50 to choose from).

Any kind of fabric can be used for quilts. Some of the most beautiful antique quilts include velvets and silks. Probably the biggest thing to beware of is shrinkage, especially in a dryer. Wool will shrink a lot and maybe several times. Cotton can shrink up to about 20%. Poly/cotton will shrink very little if at all. If you are mixing fabrics be sure all have shrunk as much as they are going to. You wouldn't want to make a beautiful quilt and have it shrink unevenly, even if you like the crinkle look. I made a lot of clothes out of poly/cotton blends and they wore beautifully. Many of the scraps were used in quilts and they also wore beautifully. They advantage to using old clothes is that they have been washed several times so you don't have to worry about shrinkage. Quilt for the joy of quilting and use what you like and can afford. Don't let anyone dictate what fabric to use.

I also had a poly double knit quilt that my Mom made for me in the 70s. My daughter has it now. It still gets plenty of use. I expect the sheet she used for backing will wear out before the double knit top does!

Polyester anything is a no in my quilting world. No, No, No. They are an absolute nightmare if you hand quilt. Wondering why one would choose to use poly when there are so many beautiful cottons.

Because that may be the only thing that is what is available to one . . . .

That's what I was thinking. I know I use it because it is sometimes given to me to use. So I do.

I like poly for its color fastness and have used it in the past to make a quilt. However, I love the feel of cotton and find cotton easier to work with. Use whatever fabric you want!

My mother used poly cotton because that's what she had left from dress making. I have quilts at least 50 years old and they still look good. She sewed pieces to newspaper that she traced around a kitchen tile then cut out by hand for a pattern. Polyester blend doesn't crease & iron like 100% cotton but like others have said - use what ya' got. My quilts are for keeping warm. Mother hand quilted her quilts AND used sheets for backing.

I often use cotton/poly blends in quilts, I just try to have the cotton at least 60 to 70%. I don't get pilling, nor have problems with the other issues mentioned.
As to the why, I ask why not? Many of us quilt and live on a very tight budget and make use of what is available within our budget. I am a frequent shopper of thrift stores in linens and clothing looking for usable fabrics. I check the labels for fiber content but I do not automatically eliminate anything with poly in it.
The most important factor to me is the hand of the fabric. There are some 100% cottons out there that I wouldn't buy!
Hugs and smiles!!!

My MIL made each of my 3 boys a quilt of poly dbl knit. The backs had to be replaced from plenty of use and launderings, but not the fronts. I have had to repair some of the piecing, as it was all hand sewn and has come apart, but other than that, lasted for 30+ years. And all of them are very warm quilts.

The old heavy polyester double knit quilts from the 70s will be here long after all of us are passed on. They wear like iron. Lol!

I've used poly and poly/cotton blends with no major issues other than needing a cooler iron setting than 100% cotton. They tend to wrinkle less and hold their color better than many all cotton fabrics. Some can be more prone to fraying, but not all. Some doesn't feel very nice, some is great.

I've combined similar weight fabrics of all sorts without problems.

Now if I ever decided to make a show quilt (highly unlikely!) I'm sure I would use exclusively 100% cotton. I use more all cotton than not, but if it is the right weight and color and feels good, that's what is most important for me.