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  • Am I the only person in the world that has fabric that shrinks?

  • Am I the only person in the world that has fabric that shrinks?

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    Old 11-02-2010, 09:01 AM
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    So many people have said they "have no problem" with using unwashed fabrics.

    I measure most of mine "before" and "after" washing - I would guess that most of them shrink "some" and some shrink "a lot"

    "A lot" to me is more than one inch in width (40-45 inch width) or 1/2 inch in a 36 inch length.
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    Old 11-02-2010, 09:03 AM
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    You're not the only one. That's one of the reasons I prewash just about every fabric I buy. I sure don't want put in all kinds of effort and time only to realize that my project got ruined because it shrunk in the wash.
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    Old 11-02-2010, 09:06 AM
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    I've never measured but can certainly tell the difference, that's why I prewash everything. I did not before I started quilting, sewed for years for my girls and grands, never crossed my mind to wash first!
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    Old 11-02-2010, 09:08 AM
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    Oh, yes, I prewash in hot and dry hot. Then I iron them with a lot of starch. Then I can cut and sew and pretty much expect them to stay that same size over the years.
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    Old 11-02-2010, 09:14 AM
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    Okay i must admit that before being in this group, i did not prewash. Now i prewash Every piece of fabric :lol:
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    Old 11-02-2010, 09:17 AM
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    I guess it just doesn't bother me, but then again my quilts aren't so intricate that it would matter.
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    Old 11-02-2010, 10:07 AM
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    Originally Posted by bearisgray
    So many people have said they "have no problem" with using unwashed fabrics.

    I measure most of mine "before" and "after" washing - I would guess that most of them shrink "some" and some shrink "a lot"

    "A lot" to me is more than one inch in width (40-45 inch width) or 1/2 inch in a 36 inch length.

    Yup. Lots of folks don't prewash, but I always do for this reason! That and bleeding. I know people always claim, "I've never had a problem..." But all it take is once to ruin months or YEARS of work.
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    Old 11-02-2010, 10:07 AM
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    Washing before quilting and washing after quilting makes a difference in shrinkage. If fabric is closely quilted to a batt, the amount of shrinkage will be determined by the batting instead of the fabric.

    Harriet Hargrave made a quilt to prove this. She used unwashed *flannel* in a quilt, then machine quilted it and washed it. The flannel did not shrink as I would have expected; she had used a batting with max 3% shrinkage (I think it was Hobbs 80/20).

    Fabric shrinkage will be much more noticeable in quilts that are tied or do not have quilting lines close together.

    I do not prewash fabrics and use Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon 100% cotton batting, which is a very traditional batting. My quilts come out looking like antique quilts -- evenly crinkled because the batting shrinks, but not distorted by uneven or excessive fabric shrinkage.

    I'm thinking that the true test of fabric shrinkage in a quilt is washing after quilting rather than before quilting.
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    Old 11-02-2010, 10:12 AM
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    Since you're not going to wear the quilt shrinkage isn't that big of a deal. Even if you preshrink your fabric, cotton batting still shrinks. They might as well shrink together.
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    Old 11-02-2010, 10:24 AM
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    Originally Posted by Prism99
    Washing before quilting and washing after quilting makes a difference in shrinkage. If fabric is closely quilted to a batt, the amount of shrinkage will be determined by the batting instead of the fabric.

    Harriet Hargrave made a quilt to prove this. She used unwashed *flannel* in a quilt, then machine quilted it and washed it. The flannel did not shrink as I would have expected; she had used a batting with max 3% shrinkage (I think it was Hobbs 80/20).

    Fabric shrinkage will be much more noticeable in quilts that are tied or do not have quilting lines close together.

    I do not prewash fabrics and use Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon 100% cotton batting, which is a very traditional batting. My quilts come out looking like antique quilts -- evenly crinkled because the batting shrinks, but not distorted by uneven or excessive fabric shrinkage.

    I'm thinking that the true test of fabric shrinkage in a quilt is washing after quilting rather than before quilting.
    I agree!
    virtualbernie is offline  
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