Foundation for string quilt.
 

I was given flannel scraps and want to make string quilts. I have not done this before and what should I use for foundation? Thanks for the help!

A couple of thoughts, 1) look at your oldest, ugliest, most see-through cotton fabrics, and use up some stash. 2) if you have muslin on hand, try that. 3) if you belong to a guild, or local group that does charity quilts, and the quilt will ultimately be for charity, ask if you can have some of their old, ugly, see-through fabric or muslin.

All suggestions are completely serious -- I just took over Charity Quilts for my guild, and the amount of fabric in my house easily quadrupled overnight. Some of the whites are practically see-through and would be perfect for foundations. Liz

Thanks Liz!

Also, check out your local thrift and consignment shops for bed sheets :)

How about paper. Didn't MSQ have 10" paper squares for sale as a base for strip quilting. After the paper is filled you trim of excess for the square.

I acquired a cheap bolt of "too thin to use" muslin. I wrote "use for strip quilting foundation" on the bolt, and it has served me well.

Use the thinnest fabric you can find. I like the thin muslin. I would not suggest using paper squares as they are a pain to tear off. One thing to be careful, these things are addictive. Ask me how I know.

Phone book pages

One thought that I had about using flannel is the shrinkage - if it wasn't washed before it was turned into scraps it could shrink up something fierce after the quilt is done, and if the foundation doesn't shrink too you could have problems. I usually wash and dry flannel twice before I use it. Of course you can't do that with scraps.

It's also a good idea to use a bigger than usual seam allowance - I've had some 1/4" seam allowances in flannel shred and come apart (purchased at my LQS. :thumbdown:)

Go to Lowe's and buy a roll of "Sediment Shield for trenches". It keeps dirt out of water drainage pipes underground. It comes in various widths, weighs nothing, can stay in your quilt (don't have to tear it off) and is very economical. I'm using it for 12" selvedge blocks I'm collecting.