JanineH

I made 3 memory lap quilts from jeans and shirts that my dad wore for my siblings and myself. My dad passed away unexpectedly in October. I’m going to back them with flannel. I bought a bolt of 8 yards and another piece. I want to cut and make the backing pieces before I wash because I don’t think I have enough strength to manhandle an 8 yard piece.i plan to make it 4-5 inches bigger all the way around. Do you think it will shrink more than that? Should I make it bigger? I’ll wait for some experienced feedback before I cut. TIA

crb45

I think you should wash the entire 8 yard piece, and then subcut. Flannel shrinks .

AZ Jane

Agreed, depending on the flannel the shrinkage can be shocking. Better safe than sorry.

Krisb

Flannel can shrink a little—@3%—or a lot—10%. There is no way to tell in advance. You would be safest to wash it. Zig zag the cut edges about 1/4” from the edge. Flannel also ravels easily. Use hot water and dry completely in a hot dryer.

if there is a laundromat nearby, they have bigger machines that might make it easier.

lberna

I made a queen size flannel quilt years ago. The fabrics were of varying degrees of quality. I washed each one in very hot water and totally dried them. The shrinkage on some of them was incredible. When I took my quilt to be washed and dried at a local dry cleaners, the owner tried to talk me out of it because he had some bad experiences with flannel quilts. I insisted it be cleaned. Afterwards, he told me my quilt was the first time he cleaned a flannel quilt that resulted in no distortions. I credit it to washing and drying prior to cutting. So, bottom line, wash in hot water and totally dry flannel.

L'il Chickadee

Sounds like the yardage is in two pieces, the 8 yard bolt and another piece. If I was looking at this I would begin by prewashing the other piece after carefully measuring WOF and its length. That would tell me how much shrinkage to expect and how to proceed. If the other piece is not the same as the bolt fabric then I would wash the bolt fabric in my deep sink. You don't need the usual amount of laundry detergent, just a tiny amount, enough to remove the fillers. Use water that is as hot as would be used for future washes after the quilts are done. Some people only wash with cold water, for instance. The beauty of a deep sink is the fabric is only agitated by you, then the plug is pulled to drain, and refilled to rinse, etc.,etc. To dry, I have a garment rack from Walmart that I use. I take about three or four hangers and thread the yardage through, letting the fabric drape down between hangers. It's a pain, I have to fold the wet fabric over lengthwise twice, but I've done it enough that it just is what it is. Part of the process. Then I put old towels down and let it drip dry awhile. Since I always prewash I'm usually taking my fabric to the iron once it is "just damp". Another trick is wrapping the damp fabric in plastic wrap and chilling it in the fridge before ironing. This works with fabrics that want to crease.
The only thing not addressed here is what happens with drying in the dryer and how that affects shrinkage. With my old school approach to life, I guess I would let the fabric drip dry as far as needed to approximate what things look like coming out of the washer, then chuck it in the dryer and hope to heck it doesn't tie itself in knots.

juliasb

I too would wash the entire piece before cutting. Flannel can shrink unevenly sometimes.

Peckish

Lil Chickadee, I'm curious, why wouldn't you just wash it in the washer? What's the benefit of hand-washing?