When does unused fabric become "old"?
 

Many of the fabrics that I have - have been in my stash between ten and thirty years.

Some of these fabrics are still unwashed (yes, gasp - unwashed!)

I still consider everything that has never been cut into or made into anything "new" -

When do you consider your fabric to be "old" ?

For me - old fabric is fabric that has become unusable for some reason - it will tear easily, has gotten musty or moldy, or has become faded in spots.

I do not seem to consider the actual time that it has been around in my thinking of it as "old" or not.

For me - old fabric is fabric that has become unusable for some reason - it will tear easily, has gotten musty or moldy, or has become faded in spots.

I do not seem to consider the actual time that it has been around in my thinking of it as "old" or not.[/QUOTE] I agree

I consider fabric to be old when I no longer like it and know that I will not ever use it in a quilt.

I don't mind old, but faulty bothers me.

I consider my large collections of calicos to be old. I bought them in the 80s when I had a great discount working part time for House of Fabrics. Just bought too much !!

Wow....I have some from so-fro fabrics....closed a loooong time ago too. All calicoes, and recently I have seen a revival of those "oldies"..... So they are still new to me!

Whatever I consider old and I don't like it, I wash again since all my fabric has been prewashed, I make into pet blankets or cut up into scraps for pet beds. If I see mold or smell mildew, I hose it down outside as the washer is filling up with soapy bleachy water or soapy vinegar. Then use it to make pet beds for the shelters. I also use a double rinse cycle. I have a rack I can use outside and hang some of the fabric to dry. Give it a quick press, sew them up and off to the pet shelter.

"Old" to me means that it is good unless it is:
-out of style (my taste)
-faded to an undesirable color
-becoming thread bare (I would always pre-wash older fabric b/c it may not have been made with anti-bleed dyes)
-breaking apart
-damaged

Barring those, I'd happily use any fabric that I knew was good quality when I bought it.

I have "old" fabric altho usable. A friend of mine and I took a class. She finished hers..I didn't. Fast forward 30 years. I decided to finally finish the quilt. I already had the batting and backing pinned. I had someone LA quilt it...I wanted to use fabric from my stash for binding. I came upon the EXACT same color purple as in my quilt top. Is this fabric from 30 years ago???? Maybe?? I made the binding from this and completed it. SSSooo, unless it's ragged or torn I will try to use it for something.......eventually:)

I am still using fabrics from the 1960's and it is not rotten. Properly stored it will last a long time.My quilt collection starts with ones from 1919, 20's, and 30's that are in great condition. Store in dry climate controlled place, and use acid free storage boxes, paper, or good quality sheets and pillowcases.

when I die

I just made a cute baby dress out of fabric from my stash. The date on the selvedge edge said 1988. I think it was originally going to be a dress for a tiny girl who now has 3 kids of her own!

I don't think of my stash as old.

OMG, by this definition I'm old!

Old is good....I'll use anything if it is stable/clean/unworn.

Great story!!

I thought when fabric became old it was reborn as vintage.......

Especially when it's right in the middle of the back.

old fabric is the pieces I throw away.

Fabric is good indefinitely if it is stored in a place where it is dry. In a damp climate it can mold or mildew. Otherwise it is fine to use just as you would use any fabric if it isn't really thin or poorly woven. I have fabrics from my mother's stash and it has been carefully stored in closed cupboards where it is out of the light and there is no moisture and it is just like new.

Old is ok as long as it is in good shape. I consider it to be "too old" to use when it is no longer pleasing to my eyes. My tastes in fabric have definately changed over the years. If you no longer like it, sell it, give it away, donete it or make it into a scrap quilt. I had a bunch of fabric in my stash that I no longer liked. I called it my ugly fabric. It bothered me staring at me from my stash but I no longer enjoyed using it. My Guild held an auction where you brought quilting things you no longer wanted and auctioned them off. Several ladies were bidding like crazy over my "ugly" fabric and were thrilled to get it. All proceeeds were used to pay for one of our charity projects. We raised a lot of money.

If fabric has been put away unwashed and left for a period of years the sizing in the fabric may have rotted the fibres. I remember sheets were bought at work and left unwashed in storage. When the sheets were brought out to use, they fell apart in the wash.

Another reason to wash fabric?

Some of my fabric goes back 30 years and is still in good condition. It has all been prewashed.

To me old is any fabric that I already have

New is what I tell my husband is that package UPS just delivered.

Is there a word for fabric in between old and new?

I have quite a bit of "old" fabrics that have never been washed and when I do use, they come out of the wash just fine. I do not pre-wash before I use the fabric.

I have fabrics from my grandmother, mother, and me (I'm nearly 80). I consider all of it usable unless it is damaged in some way. Mine has been carted around for so many years, yet I dip into it often, rummaging for that particular fabric I need. Maniac, I love your reasoning! And, guess what, calicoes are coming around again, so all things old are new again. Happy quilting, all.

"OLD" fabric, is fabric that is unusable for some reason. "GOOD" fabric, is usable fabric even if you don't like the color or print. It can always be used in something.

Old? Fabric never is old. It just turns into Vintage fabric and the cycle starts again.

I'm with the "unless it is damaged, it is never old" group. I recently used a bunch of "old" calicoes to make a quilt--the recipient loved it. She said it looked like a quilt Laura Ingalls might have used. Andover is coming out with a Little House line--I bet it includes a lot of "old" looking fabrics.

I'd say wash it up and if it comes out well then you are good to go. Too damp or too dry are the enemies of textiles of any kind - so as long as they have been stored well they should be fine.....and...since your fabric is decades younger than me - it can't possibly be old !! :D

Just wanted to mention that there were linen fabrics found in ancient Egyptian tombs that were still in good shape.

OK, I have to ask: Are you musty, moldy, faded in spots, or do you tear easily?

I have some linen from my grandmother and she died in 1960. It is in perfect condition and just waiting for the perfect project to come along.

If and when it becomes unusable for some reason. I've used well aged fabrics for backs and as linings garments and even the most dated pattern is unrecognizable in small pieces.

When it is no longer usable, or when I know it will never be used. I inherited three stashes--my mom and two of my aunts born in 1906 and 1909. My favorite piece is a chintzy off grain printed black fabric, 36" wide, labelled at 10 cents a yard.

Tartan you took the words right out of my mouth. I love old fabric and my choice of quilts are the 30's. I search for it at house sales and I have found some really wonderful fabrics. We see quilts that are more than a 100 years old and they are still beautiful if they were properly stored!

Some of my older fabric is showing 'wear' on the fold so this seems to cause discoloration because of wear along that fold.

For me I think it must be "old" if I can't remember buying it!!

Old is fabric I've totally lost interest in and don't even want to see it in a scrap quilt.