what I never heard before about Minky
 

Wow. Does it leave pieces of itself absolutely everywhere? Makes my labs' shedding look mild (and my girlfriend felts with their shed fur, so tells you there is a good bit of it)... I was ready to conquer the shiftiness and thanks to all of you, knew to cut generously to allow for slippage (which may be of my mind by the time I finish--LOL)
Laurie

I guess I'm the only quilter that does not like Minky. I see it in the shops in pretty colors but I don't like the way it feels. Too cloying for me.

I usually leave my vacuum in the sewing room when working on Minky, plus I have a "shop smock" for the stuff that wants to just jump on and stay on my clothes... particulary if I am wearing anything with poly in it.

I agree Bella - but my granddaughters LOVE it. Each of them has a small scrap quilt to watch TV - backed with Minky. It is a royal pain in the ... neck... to work with. I wouldn't work with it for anyone but my Granddaughters!!!

I have not had any minky. My four cats shed enough for me. Hair is everywhere.

i always step outside and give it a good shake right out of the bag when i get it home from the store- before i take it into the house- and i try to purchase it in a way that i can just piece it and not cut it more (such as getting 2 (2yd) pieces instead of 4 yards---to keep the shedding out of the house- that is my only complaint about the stuff- the kids in my family always request it on the back of their quilts- but it is so....messy! when i order it i again- take the package outside, open it & give it a good shake...that helps

My grands will never know it's different then flannel for a quilt unless I make one with Minkey. I'm glad I never gave them the option to know because I'd cave and buy the stuff. LOL

I wonder if different brands have varied amount of shedding. I quilted two layers as a throw and I didn't have any mess at all. I love how it stays soft compared with fleece that loses its' softness.

That stuff sheds like mad! I sew with a group of ladies on a regular basis. We sew in a large room with hardwood floors. One of the ladies made baby quilts with Minkee, flannel and cotton mixed. They were just cool. Everybody in the room wound up with Minkee lint on them!!

cutting minky
 

Just week at our Craft Warehouse, the instructor suggested a helpful hint on cutting minky. set up a table out in the garage or outside, and cut it out there. it's about 39 degerrs here now, so dress warmly. She sweeps the scraps out for the birds and squirrels..

great to know - I bought 2 yards on sale and haven't used it yet THANKS

I have made numerous small toys out of minkee, cutting it into 5" squares. Wow, the mess! After I got started, I decided to do all the colors I had since I was going to have to sweep out the roomand change my clothes anyway! A few years later, when the memory faded <grin> I made a double-sided minkee throw for my daughter. I told her it was a definite sign I loved her because that stuff was a mess! I did use my serger so it wasn't too hard to sew, but it took me 30 minutes to clean up my cutting mat.

Yes, it's soft, but what a mess! I prefer the breathability of cotton most of the time.

Pam

If it makes a mess in your sewing rooms - what does it do to your sewing machines???

Is Minky the really thinks fleece/flannel you see in bathrobes?

Honestly I think if I was going to make something with Minkee I'd drag a table and big extension cord out and sew in the driveway!! LOL

We all have minky pillowcases in our house and we love them but I don't necessarily love the mess that it makes. It is great on the back of a quilt.

I bought some of this a few weeks before the holidays to make a tied blanket. When I went to get it cut, the employee told me she hoped I wasn't making a tied blanket. I asked why, and she said I would have bits and pieces of it everywhere. It will unravel like there is no tomorrow. Never heard that before, but I put it back anyway. Have enough to deal with I didn't need to fret over a piece of fabric making a mess. Still love the feeling of it for baby blankets.

No you're not, I run from it!!!!

I don't like it either. Takes forever to clean all the lint out of the machine and my sewing room. I don't have babies anymore and if I did, I'd buy them a minky-backed quilt before I would make one.

I think this must be true. I have had shedding problems sometimes and other times no problems at all. I think it depends on the name brand and the knock-offs.

I love the feel but hate the fuzzy and dificulty of use. I do find that spray Hastings it helps a lot.

I used minkee for sashing and the back of my grandsons quilt. The biggest problem I had was with the thickness at joining corners. I love the stuff. So cuddly and warm. Not sure how it will hold up after years though.

Its the texture. I prefer crisp, weathered soft.

No, you aren't the only one - I hate the feel of it, too - and am not real crazy about how it looks. But then, I can't stand the feel of microfiber either - maybe I'm just wierd - :)

I don't like Minky either, hate the way it feels and I had a hard time sewing with it.

I have never used Minky but was considering using it as a back for a baby quilt. Since reading these post though I know I will never use it. That is unless Minky is improved. Sounds like more than I could handle.
A big concern I would have is, what does it do to the sewing machine. More than likely the bobbin casing has to be cleaned thoroughly. Don't think it's worth it. Think I will use flannel for the back instead of Minky.

I love quilting on minky and other plush fur fabrics for backing on lap quilts and baby quilts. It's the softest!! I especially love Shannon fabrics' Cuddlesoft - not so much stretch, which is wonderful for quilting on my longarm. For Christmas, my sister made a lap quilt for each of her kids, which I machine-quilted. I use an old mat to trim, then have to vacuum afterwards. I told her I was going to charge her for cleanup :). And she found that the long fur shed, so just popped each of the quilts into the wash before giving them away. Her kids absolutely love their snuggy quilts, and these five "kids" range in age from 16 to 29. (I also love quilting with minky because it shows off my quilting...)

I'm with you - I can't stand the feel of microfiber! I don't think I've ever touched minky and after reading all this I don't think I want to anyway.

Thank you to all who have commented. I have never worked with minky. I have been tempted but am now sure that
I do not want to work with it. I have enough dust bunnies with 3 critters running around the house and all my thread snips.

I have used it once for a backing for a baby quilt and I think I will stick to that use only. Then I don't have to cut it much.

I can imagine a pieced minky quilt would be a challenge with lint to clean up. However, I made a quilt for my husband with minky backing and he LOVES it. While making it, I used a pet hair roller to pick up the fuzzy lint after cutting the piece, rolling it over the minky edges to pick up any loose pieces that stuck to the minky too. It picked up fine. Then, I delivered the quilt to my LAQ who said she had no problem quilting with it. I kept the edges longer so I could turn them around to the front and fold/sew the binding and complete the quilt. Turned out great. He uses the quilt alot over the past 2 years and we've had no problem with it.
Meanwhile, since then, I made a quilt for myself with good quality flannel backing. It's nice. But, I prefer the feel of the minky as it's so soft. I'm sure a minky-backed quilt will be a to-do item in the future again.

I didn't know any better LOL and made rag quilts for GDs for Christmas. I used the 11" squares from Missouri Star Quilt Co--animal fur print and used a flannel for backing. Not great rag guilts but the girls liked them. I was able to find pjs and slippers in the fur prints too.

I have a couple of charm packs of the minkee lights and brights too

BarbsCA

I love Minky, and so does my niece. I put it on the back of a double bed quilt for her, in addition to several small things.

It is tough on the cutting board, but I ALWAYS wash it first, and there isn't a whole lot of shedding. Have always used the brand Joann's has, too. There isn't any cotton in it, so you can wash it and still use a top made of unwashed cotton. I have always put binding on the quilt, too, and never turned it. Also glue it together with 505 spray baste.

I to found that if you keep a vacuum close by it helps. If I have to cut it I cut with a ruler and rotary cutter......don't move it ,grab the vacuum and sweep where you cut . It will pull all the loose fibers into the vacuum. We did cover about 100 pillows with it for a craft sale and this way really helped.

I run mine through the dryer before using it. I shake it out of the bag inside the dryer

Sad to hear a lot of you dont like minkee, I actually love to do it on my long arm!! it sews like butter.
And also, it sells baby quilts.
Altho I must say, it is sometimes difficult to remove stitches, if I put it on my headers selvages to
my headers, I dont have any problems at all with it. Yes it does tend to shed..but..I think its fun!
katz

I use the fleece throws that are soft and don't need batting. They don't shed like Minkee.

what is minky?

What a neat idea! I've been saving cut up threads for the birds...nothing longer than 4" or so...if it's longer, I cut it up....even some 1/8" ribbons. They love the colors!

Minky is similiar to fleece, but it is super soft and stays soft even after many washings and dryings. It has many different names depending on who makes it.

Is minkey or minkee called cuddle-ewe (sp?)at Joann's?? Di