I am one of those who does not wash the fabric before using it. I have always felt the fabric stays cleaner longer. My bed sized quilt "Danbury" will take a long time to hand quilt, and I was wondering about the edges farying out during the time I am moving it around.

Does anyone know if there is a product to keep the fraying down, while I stitch this very large (Queen) quilt? And will it do something to the fabric over a period of time?

Some people fold the backing over the edges and baste or pin it down - it protects the edges and keeps the batting from getting caught

I once very thoroughly "oiled" my machine with Fray-Check - same shape bottle - not a good idea

I think you are right about the fabric seeming to stay clean longer -

Thanks so much bear!!!! That is a terrific suggestion. AND I will not have to worry about chemicals hurting my precious quilt after all the work I put into it. :D

What a great tip!!! Thank you :D :D :D

I don't think I would recommend this (folding the back over the edges) for machine quilting -
but it does work well for a hand quilted piece - the extra step does really protect the edges

That is exactly what I will be doing. I plan to hand quilt it in a hoop. That is why I figure that it will be this time next year before it is done. :D

This is exactly what I did with a quilt that took me several years to complete, as it was too warm to hand quilt in the summer months. I only removed the tacking from the folded edges as I came to hand quilt the borders, and it still looks good and I began making it in 1999.