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Fraying material, how not to pick this type of fabric again.
I am finishing up a quilt that I started in a class a couple of years ago. The store owner helped me pick out my color selection. Most of the colors were in a grouping and the material is really nice and has held up well during the quilt piecing project. I am now sewing my rows and during the piecing process I have noticed one fabric that we picked not in the grouping has really frayed or has lots of strings hanging from it. I will admit I have handled the fabric a lot but the better quality fabric has held up very well. This other main color is a white cotton with a light green small pattern in it. I would mainly call it a background color. It looks thin or see through and has frayed or raveled a lot. It has been a pain. In the future I would like to make sure I don't ever get any fabric like this in the future. I wondered if there are any tips when looking at fabric on the bolt that you would suggest, so I don't have this problem in the future. It really has been a pain since I am a beginner. Thank you!
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My thoughts on picking a fabric that doesn't fray so much would be to look at the cut end on the bolt. Some of it "strings" more than others.
Is it too late to back your fraying fabric with some very lightweight iron on interfacing? Don't give up or feel bad... this is all a learning process for us. |
It is the sign of the times. Most fabrics are now made in China instead of Japan. I have used Robert Kaufman and Hoffmans and until recently, I never had a problem. I am working on a charity quilt using a cute RK print and I am trimming the seams edges a lot more often! As you notice, a lot less handling does help. Not sure if spray starching would also help.
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I buy good quality quilt store fabric ONLY for quilting. and there is a fray stop spray I believe you can use on the back to help with that fraying.. once quilted it should hold better but no I wont probably last as long .. less threads per square inch... its frustrating to end up with all those threads. pain to work with too..
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As you get more experienced you will be able to see the difference. Take a piece of the fabric you like and hold it up with your hand behind it. Compare how much you can " see" your hand through the fraying fabric and to the better fabric. If the fabric seems thin and see through, it isn't the best quality.
You can also mark off a 1/2 square on both fabrics and count the number of threads in the square to compare. Lower thread count is flimsier fabric. |
As mentioned even the better brands have some of this - usually the background (lighter) colors. Not sure if the dyes in the darker ones help to keep them from fraying as much. I do starch all of my fabric before cutting and it does help to keep fabric from fraying as much. If you find a piece that is fraying easily, tryp spray starching it before working with it.
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Yet another reason to pre-wash! Fabric that isn't going to hold up well or ravel shows its true colour when it comes out of the washer/dryer.
Even good quality white can be "see-through" in my experience. I normally avoid using solid white for just that reason. Off whites or creams or other neutrals just look nicer to me, anyway. BTW, I pink the edges of all my fabrics before I wash them. :) |
It also frays because it is not cut on the grain -- years ago we used to pull a string the width of the fabric so we knew the grain line.
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Originally Posted by Nammie to 7
(Post 6390810)
It also frays because it is not cut on the grain -- years ago we used to pull a string the width of the fabric so we knew the grain line.
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Don't buy Homespun!
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