Why not use cotton/poly?
03-24-2017, 05:40 PM
#41
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
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Cotton/poly pilling? I have never seen a woven cotton poly shirt that has pills on it.
As with most things, there are nice cotton poly blends - and not so nice one's. Iusually use steam when i press, so there is a bit more wiggle room temperature eize than when using a dry iron.
It is always a good idea to do a burn test on fabrics with unknown fiber content. I forgot to do that and put a dry iron in the middle of a strap I was making for a bag. The fabric was not 100% cotton!
I used the cotton covered polyester (coats & clark) on quilts that I made 20 years ago and see no evidence of the thread cutting the fabric. The bindings are fraying on the edges, but that is from use - not the thread i used.
As with most things, there are nice cotton poly blends - and not so nice one's. Iusually use steam when i press, so there is a bit more wiggle room temperature eize than when using a dry iron.
It is always a good idea to do a burn test on fabrics with unknown fiber content. I forgot to do that and put a dry iron in the middle of a strap I was making for a bag. The fabric was not 100% cotton!
I used the cotton covered polyester (coats & clark) on quilts that I made 20 years ago and see no evidence of the thread cutting the fabric. The bindings are fraying on the edges, but that is from use - not the thread i used.
03-24-2017, 06:19 PM
#42
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Join Date: Oct 2016
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Posts: 722
Originally Posted by klswift
There is nothing 'wrong' with using cotton/poly. Or using denim, linen, satin, wool, fur, lace, anything you want in a quilt. It is your quilt and you can use whatever you want. If you are making an heirloom quilt or a quilt for a competition, then there are rules to follow. I believe that one of the reasons people used to say that the only true quilts were made from all cotton was that the antique quilts were usually made from all cotton - but, they didn't have cotton/poly fabrics! If using mixed fabrics, I would suggest washing everything first because they may have various shrink properties and be aware that your quilting may need to handle assorted thicknesses, but, whatever you want to do - GO FOR IT!
03-24-2017, 06:47 PM
#43
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Long Island
Posts: 24,820
i've always felt it's your quilt, do what you want. I started quilting before there were a lot of quilting fabrics available. for some reason, quilting fabrics weren't so widely available in the 70's when i was a teen and got heavily into quilting. before that, i used my grandma's scraps. Polyester blends tend to pill sometimes. i have used gingham in almost all my quilts in the early days. i've heard some people's horror stories about poly blends. also, that the poly cut thru cotton. Never had a problem with that. Polys hold a stain better also. In the 70's they had A LOT of calicos. As I've said, it's your quilt, have fun with it.
03-25-2017, 03:27 PM
#45
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Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Ont. Canada
Posts: 457
Poly /cotton won't give you that " crinkly" look after washing , frays a bit more easily, and doesn't hold a crease well ( useful to know for needle turn applique and binding) ...but otherwise , it works just fine, and the colors won't fade.
03-25-2017, 04:23 PM
#46
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,867
The biggest problem I have with cotton/poly is that it doesn't stretch or ease in well when two pieces are a little off. The quilt I'm working on that has c/p sashing was sewn by two people and our 1/4" seam allowances are a little different. I can ease the cotton areas, but not the c/p. That's why I didn't recommend buying more for your quilt. Use as much cotton as you can while mixing in your gingham.
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