quiltmom04

I may not be correct, but it often think the fold on a bolt has been damaged, much like a fold in a quilt that has been stored for too long folded one way. If that is in fact the case, no amount of pressing will fix it. You. May just have to work around it an move on.

luci4

The extra length is for tucking under and over the pillows, and leaving a 15 inch drop at the foot of the bed. A good visual would be think of the spreads used on beds in a hotel room for the over and under of pillows.

misseva

I use Sta-Flo liquid starch from the grocery store - mixed half & half with water. I only starch material I'm working on and then always wash the quilt afterwards. No bug has ever eaten my blocks before I got the quilt made.

clem55

quilt size: I have another question to ask here. When I drew up "my plan" for a Grandmother fan quilt, I wanted all blocks to lay evenly along the top, with a sashing edging the bed. Sewed my top together, and it worked exactly the way I wanted it to fit. Since I wasn't into hand quilting yet, my quilting was minimal, outlining blocks and fan blades. I used a low loft batting. After the quilting was done, my quilt will only fit properly on a standard full size bed. Is there any way to determine how large to make a quilt so that it will fit properly after quilting?

Tiggersmom

Lots of great info here! and yes, I love BP.

Just to put another cog into the wheel. On King size mattress, you have TWO choices! The California King is shorter than it is wide, and the Eastern King is wider than it's length!

My mother use to use vinegar and water in a spray bottle to set the seams in pants with a very hot iron.
I use vinegar in my washing machine instead of softener as it helps get rid of the soap and deoderizes. Vinegar is great for lots of things. After perms, to get the smell out mom would use a vinegar water mix in the rinse.

I read an article on irons a while back and for the value/heating, etc, they suggested a Black and Decker from Walmart that was less than $30. My Rowenta spits water if I get it too full and the B&D iron is great too.

Jingle

I don't use best spray, spray starch or steam. After I wash new fabric I dry put in dryer, totally dry it. I immediately take to dining table fold in have with 6x24" ruler and stack with the others. Usually fab.s don't need ironing when I'm ready to iron.
Placing damp fabric comes from years ago when all outside worn clothes were ironed. We sprinkled with water and stuck them in a waterproof bags, ironed them next day. For some reason it made them iron better and look better.
I was very glad when polyester ( wash and wear) clothing came out -- no more ironing clothes. Now if clothes need to be ironed, they get donated.
I do have a B&D classic iron, about my third since I started quilting, the best one yet. I need to buy another for a back up.

DebbE

I remember ironing my fathers fatiques when I was a teen -- starch was added to the spray bottle, I sprayed the daylights out of the fabric and rolled it up. A few minutes later I'd unroll one at a time and iron each, and had no wrinkles. If it wasn't done properly an enlisted man could get called on the carpet for it. Nowadays, I'd spray with some water (maybe starch added to the water isn't a bad idea, but I use spray starch now!), let it sit for a minute or two and iron.

I make my own ironing board covers - used sheets at yard sales are great for this. A small amount of batting underneath it works quite well. My ironing board is an odd shape - it came over from England, so regular covers won't work, and I don't like those anyway. My iron has ALWAYS gotten a great deal of use over the past 40 years (I'm on my 3rd iron now), so I'm pretty picky about how I set it all up.

As far as the dimensions for a quilt - I measure the bed, and how far I want it to hang. Our bed is up pretty high (due to a really thick mattress), and I like it to hang long all the way around as my DH ends up with most of the covers, and what he doesn't take, the pups lay on....not much for me if I don't have it extra long on the sides! I also like it extra long on the end so it matches the sides as you can see it coming into the room. I have a bedskirt, but like the look of an extra wide & long quilt on a bed. I don't like tucking in pillows - its a hassle. I have pillow shams and place our pillows behind those when I make up the bed every morning. It's all preferences.

IBQUILTIN

It took me a long time to realize that I couldn't spray with starch or water and immediately get out creases from the bolt. Now I spray whichever I am going to use, let it penetrate the fabric for a little while, then press. The wrinkle issue is probably how the fabric went on the bolt at the mill, and the sizing thing is a BUG mystery to me

maviskw

I think refolding a different way is important. Each time I look at a piece of fabric to see if it's big enough, or is something I want to use, I refold it differently. Especially the center fold from the bolt. I refold all my fabric so that the center fold is not the same as it was on the bolt as soon as I add it to my stash. I think opening those folds helps the fabric to relax and the wrinkles press out easier.

But I had a piece of white that I couldn't get ironed no matter what I did. So I ended up using it wrinkled. These were not wrinkles from being on a bolt. The entire piece of fabric was completely covered with tiny wrinkles. I have no idea from whence it had come!

ArchaicArcane

jewellene and quiltmom04- thanks for this information. I would like to think that this fabic is not "old" in that it apparently the navy blue arrived in store in July. (I know this because I chased the equivalent of a full bolt all around the city. I had to go to 4 stores to do it, and opted out of the 5th when the lady who answered the phone didn't know what a batik was. ) I can definitely see "damaged" though with the way they cram bolts together and you have to drag some of them off the top shelves.

clem55 - excellent question. I have no idea, maybe someone else will. I know I didn't notice a difference with the lap quilt I made, but admittedly, I didn't pay that much attention because it didn't have to "fit" anything.

Tiggersmom - I had heard that vinegar was an excellent cleaning product. With the garbage that's in so many other cleaners these days I'm seriously considering switching. I had no idea about its ironing superpowers though. I kept looking at the B&D when I went out, but I hadn't gotten around to doing the research. I think my grandma's was a B&D. It was a great iron til I melted it (about 17 years ago). I used to cool the iron in the oven so I didn't have to worry about little or furry hands getting at it. I forgot it was in there and pre-heated the oven one day.

Jingle - seriously? I would have thought the folding would put creases in the first couple of wraps at least!? You must fold way better than I do. I cringe when I fold, knowing I'll have to iron because of it. That really weird that storing the cloth wet and cold should make it iron better. I will have to try it though. I don't -think- that the tiny wrinkles in the fabric will change the sizing after a wash,... I hope?

DebbE - rolling you say? Interesting. I feel the same as you about the quilt. I would freeze if not for an over-sized quilt (and one snuggly cat)

IBQUILTIN - how long is a while? I've usually waited til it looked "soaked in", but I get the impression you mean longer... I was so proud of myself when I graduated from the 2 handed method: One hand with starch and the other with the iron. A quick one-two-"what's burning" combo...

maviskw - you're probably right. If nothing else, the fabric can't keep remembering that one particular crease. My stash isn't very old yet, but I will try to make it a habit to refold.