Using flannel
 

I have read that if you cut a small triangle off the corners of the fabric before you wash, it reduces or eliminates the fraying. Haven't tried it, but would be interested if anyone has.

I sew a zig zag stitch on both cut ends. Leaves a nice unraveled edge. But do wash and dry 2 times.

I sew along the cut edge.

The triangle thing never worked for me.

I highly recommend using starch instead of a lightweight fusible before cutting. I use a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water, "paint" this on the yardage with a large wall painting brush, wait a couple of minutes to ensure the starch has penetrated fabric fibers, toss in the dryer, and iron with steam. This make the flannel very stable and easy to cut and piece with accuracy. Of course, you would do this after your last preshrinking wash/dry. A huge advantage over interfacing is that the starch washes out and leaves the flannel with its original softness.

It's a very good idea to use 1/2" seams with flannel.

It's actually possible to use unwashed flannel in a quilt as long as the quilting is moderately close together. Once quilted, even flannel cannot shrink more than the batting allows. This does *not* work if quilting lines are far apart. If your quilting lines will be more than 3" apart, definitely prewash the flannel.

I once took a class from Harriet Hargrave, and she brought a flannel quilt with her to prove it works. It was all unwashed flannel. She measured the quilt before washing and after washing, and it shrank the amount that the batting (Hobbs80/20) was expected to shrink. She had used a moderately close meander on the quilt.

Edit: For washing flannel yardage, it's a good idea to sew or serge along the cut edges to prevent ravelling. It's also a good idea to fold the yardage into large accordion pleats and use large safety pins to keep the folds in place. This keeps the yardage from twisting around on itself.

I overcast my edges. It kind of mimics the serger stitch and also works well for mending clothes

I back all my baby quilts with flannel. I never wash it but then I like the "crinkly" look.

When I use to wash fabrics, I would cut the ends with my pinking shears. I am not sure that would work with flannel tho.....

I used my serger on the cut ends. No raveling.

I serge any cut edges of fabric before I wash it.

Are you worried about fraying before or after you apply the fusible? In other words, will you apply the fusible before you wash the flannel?

I wash and dry flannel twice without sewing around the edges. There is some fraying on the cut ends, but it's not a problem for the selvage ends. When I take the flannel out of the washer, I clip the frays off, then put it in the dryer. After the second wash/dry, I cut the width of the fabric to get a straight edge. So far I haven't used fusible on flannel and it seems to sew up and stay together without fusible. However, I usually quilt relatively closely, and that helps keep seams together.

Thanks everyone for all the flannel tips; this is what I am doing at this point; I zigzagged the inside flannel for seam so can keep to 1/4 inch; then am leaving 1/2" seam allowance on outside (at least for now) when I put blocks together will decide what to do at that point if too bulky. These various animals will make up border for baby quilt and there will be a giant giraffe on face of quilt. It seems to be going together great; I did starch the flannel and have had no problems with sewing together with the cotton. I shrank it twice. Will post later on down the road with the project. Thanks again!
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