Wool for quilts
 

I bought a fill your bag from this bin for $1.00 so took all the denim & 4 wool skirts. I have wool yardage in my stash. I would like to make a quilt just using bricks from this wool. Went online to see how to and am still unsure of how to treat the wool. Do I wash/boil it or what? And after it is made and does need cleaning can I put in the washer?
Thanks for any help you can give me.

Carmanmarie

Have often wondered same thing. Going to wait and see replies you receive!

Some wools shrink like crazy (think man-size sweater shrunk down to toddler size); other wool fabrics are pre-treated and don't shrink.

What I would do in your situation is wash each wool in the washing machine with soap and dry on high in the dryer. That way if you have one that crazy-shrinks, you can use it for some other project. The wools that survive the washer/dryer treatment should work fine for a quilt, and the quilt would be able to be washed normally later.

Edit: Should mention that it's a good idea to use laundry soap when you wash the wools -- not just hot water. This is because wool fibers have little hooks on them. When the fibers are agitated in water and soap, the soap provides a slipperiness that encourages the hooks to interlock. This helps achieve max shrinkage in the wool.

I agree, just prewash in hot water. I have done this and had some shrinkage in all wools, some more than others. However after the initial wash/dry have not had any issues with piecing wool into a quilt. But I have only done it twice, so don't have a huge experience to speak from. Hopefully you will get some more feedback too. I have also read that others have used old wool clothing as batting and it makes a really warm quilt.

Could you use wool in a quilt with cotton backing? I've seen some quilt appliqués that are very pretty, but I'm wondering if the backing would work. I know how to felt the wool and that's what I'm referring to. Thanks in advance for any advise you have.
Sue

I remember my wool skirts with I donated to charity said to Dry Clean only.

I use a Lot of wool fabrics in my quilting, my favorite fiber to work with. First thing is Wash your wool, warm to hot water, some detergent, a regular cycle. Then toss into the dryer, again regular cycle settings. I generally take my wools out of the dryer before they are overly dry ( helps with wrinkles) then I just press them dry, but sometimes I don't catch them and they are fine. Then your wools are ready to use. Your finished quilt projects are washable, check out my (Backyard Gatherings) quilt... It has been washed, dried 3 or 4 times in the picture

Visit Sue Spargo s website! She makes lots of quilts using regular cottons and wools. I like combining wools with flannels and homespun fabrics. My Backyard Gathering quilt is wool applique on black double sided Benartex flannel, with a black cotton batting and flannel backing

Your quilt is beautiful! I'm washing the wool now. One piece was 6 yards I haven't a clue why I bought so much. 10 yards washed and almost ready for the dryer.
Thank you all for this information.

Just a side note...when you dry the wool make sure and check your lint trap (in 10-15 min) before the timer goes off as wool puts alot of fluff in the trap and I've heard it is a fire hazard if it over heats the dryer.

A lot of times garment tags will say Dry Clean only because it is the safest way to clean them. However, unless the content is rayon, it's usually safe to wash the garment by hand in cold water. With wool, the biggest problem with washing a garment is that the fabric might shrink and thus render the garment unwearable. However, if the fabric shrinks evenly, there's no reason why it can't be used in a quilt.

Thank you for the lint trap reminder.
My large piece shrank over a yard!

Does the process described "felt" the wool so it can be used as raw edge applique without fraying? I love the felted wool applique quilts done with fancy applique stitches and blanket stitch around the applique and if I ever acquire some cast off wool clothing I would like to give it a try.

One of my grandmothers made wool quilts and this is what she would do, too. All of her wool was from salvaged clothing, and thanks to all her pre-washing, I can machine-wash her quilts pretty fearlessly, except for the oldest ones that need a little more TLC these days.

I use woolen clothing a lot in my quilts. One thing I have found useful is to cut the garment into large pieces (basically taking out all the joins/seams) then wash. Some fabric shrinks a fair bit, but I have cut up skirts and jackets that have had minimal/no shrinkage. With the seams/hems and whatnot cut out you will get maximum shrinkage and after washing/drying/pressing you will have usable fabric which will pretty much withstand everything.

The process is the same for felting wool but I think for felting you need (1) 100% wool, no blends, and (2) I believe you need to start with knitted wool. When you start with woven wool fabric, I don't think you get the edges that don't ravel. The upside is that you typically get only a little shrinkage with woven fabric; knitted wool is where you can get the humongous shrinkage. It is that shrinkage that tightens all the fibers so much that nothing ravels. I think. I've felted knitted garments only by accident. :shock:

Felting (it's more acurately called 'fulling'...'felting' is done on raw, unspun fibers) is done on processed fibers...that includes woven, knitted, and crocheted wool and other protein fibers (angora, cashmere, etc). Fulled/felted edges don't ravel no matter what 100% pure product you start with.*

The woven vs. knitted difference in shrinkage is due to the difference in processing procedures the wool has already been through, the alignment of the fibers within the fabric/yarn (end to end or jumbled), and the straightness/kinkyness of the fibers. It is the tighter interlocking of the hooks in the fibers on shrinking that prevents the raveling.

*The exception is worsted wools. They do tend to ravel, even after felting/fulling.

More info:
http://www.quiltmaker.com/articles/f...ing_woven_wool

well that's an awkward place to break that hyperlink, isn't it! :shock:

rofl!!!! :d :d :d