Fabrics with glitter/sparkles
 

What is your experience with these? Do you prewash? Eventually they must be washed in a quilt - hand wash, gentle cycle, cold water???? Do the sparkles wear off easily? I bought two such fabrics earlier today for a 4th of July quilt and now am wondering how to best take care of them. THX! :eek:

I made a table runner with glitter in the fabric and I washed the fabric first and dried in the machine. Ironed the runner and glitter fell in the floor but still right much in the fabric. the fabric I bought from Jo-Annes

I bought some that had glitter in it from WalMart and prewashed and ironed. A little came off but not much. Just going to keep an eye on it. Don't want it to mess up my machine. I don't care if it gets on the floor, that's what doggies and dust mops are for.

The fabrics I've had seemed to 'shed' some, but most of the glitter stays on for quite a while.
I think that eventually most of the glitter did come off after many washings, but it stayed on for quite a while.

Aren't you afraid that it will get in your (or a child's) eye? I got it in my eye onetime and it really hurt. Had to go to the eye doctor, and have him remove it, then had to wear a patch for a few days, along with eye drops every few hours. When I see those fabrics, I just pass on by.

As a point of interest: The Quilts of Valor Foundation does not allow "sparkle" fabric in the donated quilts they take for wounded military because these fabrics DO shed some and that impacts wounds. Seems to me the same would apply to fabrics for small children or for objects made to be around food.

Jan in VA

I've had a number of gorgeous Christmas fabrics with sparkles. I was afraid to use them in quilts, and eventually made Christmas gift bags. They will probably not have to be washed for twenty years, if ever. Someone once told me that the sparkles come off too easily and would diminish the look of the fabric.

All my fabric gets washed, hot water/dryer, before it is added to my stash!
I want to know what's going to happen with it for the long term.
For sparkles, I really want to know, so I am not disappointed after I've done a lot of work.

I've had some where the sparkles virtually all disappeared.
Some minimal disappearance.

One, the sparkles were more of a plastic bead ... no problem in the wash, but if you iron it, they melt.
And some ... never has lost a thing .. it is more like a rainbow metallic melted into the fabric. I had quite a bit of it .. and now wish I had more of it, and could get other colours.

I have a couple pieces with the glitter. I can't imagine why they would put it on 100% cotton fabrics. I will use them sooner or later.

After all your good info, I've decided to go smaller with a table runner or wall hanging. :thumbup: