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Fabric Composition
Cotton Fabric wrinkles easily
Modern quilters may not want to use cotton fabric because of the notion that it wrinkles easily and may fade with washings. Cotton has been hybridized so that today’s cotton fibers wrinkle less and the latest in colorfast dying techniques increase the lifespan of the colors in the cotton fibers. You simply want to use cotton fabric in your quilts.
Get a fabric that doesn't fray
Piecing your quilt requires that you use small pieces of fabric that have been precisely cut into the right shapes. When you sew the pieces together you are using a tiny seam allowance, a mere ¼ inch. You want a fabric that doesn’t fray; frayed fabric means pieces that may lose their shape or seams that won’t be the right width. Polyester blend fabrics, on the other hand, fray easily. If you absolutely fall in love with the perfect fabric for your quilt and it isn’t 100% cotton fabric, make sure that you buy a 50-50 blend of polyester and cotton. The typical 65% polyester, 35% cotton blend fabrics that you find at the local fabric store simply don’t have enough cotton in them to be suitable for your prize quilt that you will spend hours and hours making. You will find that the fabric content is printed on the end of the cardboard insert in the middle of the bolt. If you are buying fabric online, be sure to check the fabric description before ordering fabric for your quilt.
Seriously consider buying your quilt fabrics only from quilt shops that specialize in fabrics that are suitable for quilting, either regular shops or online sources. Make sure that the store carries 100% cotton fabric.
Weight of the fabrics
Another factor to consider is the weight of the fabrics that you use in your quilt; fabrics should be about the same weight so that the small pieces needed for a quilt block will mesh together properly. What is the weight of a fabric? An obvious example of differing weights is corduroy versus cotton fabric. Crazy quilts frequently use different fabrics like satin and velvet mixed with cotton fabrics but a crazy quilt is made using different techniques than a pieced or appliqué quilt block.
Modern quilters may not want to use cotton fabric because of the notion that it wrinkles easily and may fade with washings. Cotton has been hybridized so that today’s cotton fibers wrinkle less and the latest in colorfast dying techniques increase the lifespan of the colors in the cotton fibers. You simply want to use cotton fabric in your quilts.
Get a fabric that doesn't fray
Piecing your quilt requires that you use small pieces of fabric that have been precisely cut into the right shapes. When you sew the pieces together you are using a tiny seam allowance, a mere ¼ inch. You want a fabric that doesn’t fray; frayed fabric means pieces that may lose their shape or seams that won’t be the right width. Polyester blend fabrics, on the other hand, fray easily. If you absolutely fall in love with the perfect fabric for your quilt and it isn’t 100% cotton fabric, make sure that you buy a 50-50 blend of polyester and cotton. The typical 65% polyester, 35% cotton blend fabrics that you find at the local fabric store simply don’t have enough cotton in them to be suitable for your prize quilt that you will spend hours and hours making. You will find that the fabric content is printed on the end of the cardboard insert in the middle of the bolt. If you are buying fabric online, be sure to check the fabric description before ordering fabric for your quilt.
Seriously consider buying your quilt fabrics only from quilt shops that specialize in fabrics that are suitable for quilting, either regular shops or online sources. Make sure that the store carries 100% cotton fabric.
Weight of the fabrics
Another factor to consider is the weight of the fabrics that you use in your quilt; fabrics should be about the same weight so that the small pieces needed for a quilt block will mesh together properly. What is the weight of a fabric? An obvious example of differing weights is corduroy versus cotton fabric. Crazy quilts frequently use different fabrics like satin and velvet mixed with cotton fabrics but a crazy quilt is made using different techniques than a pieced or appliqué quilt block.
Latest page update: made by QuiltingLovers
, Jun 16 2006, 4:59 PM EDT
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Edited by QuiltingLovers
373 words added
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Edited by QuiltingLovers
373 words added
view changes
- complete history)
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