Originally Posted by Andrea
If you use inexpensive fabric just be careful it will wash well. My saddest tale is that I completed a quilt and only later wondered about the quality of the muslin I'd used. (It's a 30's quilt with muslin serving as the alternate block.) The muslin was just some muslin I had on hand.
So I finally dug up what was left of the muslin I used, cut a 5" square and tossed it in the washing machine (warm water). When it came out of the dryer it was at least a full inch smaller and was horribly wrinkled and felt like cardboard. Since then I have been "unsewing" the whole quilt and replacing the bad muslin with good muslin. So do what you want -- but BE CAREFUL.
Every day I learn something new, or see something differently. Until I came on this board, muslin was something I bought (lots and lots of) for cooking and baking, and the quality of it was never an issue. I have a good sized stash of it.
When I needed to make a pattern for a service dog vest for my two girls, I used the muslin for the patterns. I have always just sort of thought of it as a "scrap" material. I will now be showing it more respect, and paying more attention to the quality of it. Thanks.