FABRIC SELECTION, PREPARATION AND BATTING - Template Techniques
No prewashing for me! When I’m ready to start a project, I want to GET SEWING! Armed with fresh fat quarters from the quilt store, straight to the ironing board, a minimal time spent at the cutting mat, a little marking, and then,YESSS, I can sit down to the sewing machine and know that a finished block is only minutes away.
For those of you who like to prewash, you have my blessings. Some colors are more likely to run, and I have been known to do a blot test on a sample of suspect fabric.
How to do a blot test: Wet sample well without actually rinsing it, let it sit on your counter 5 or 10 minutes, then blot with a white tissue or paper towel. If any dye shows on the tissue, you should prewash.
Personally, this is how I would make a decision about washing: if the color ran profusely, I’d prewash, but if the color ran with only a slight tint showing on the tissue, I’d finish the quilt and rinse it carefully in tepid water in my bathtub using Color Catchers. These are available at most larger grocery stores and are in the detergent aisle. After rinsing quilt markings out, I’d then keep using Color Catchers during the wash, using detergent specially made for quilts, and lots of water for it to soak in, still using the bathtub. I’d rinse twice, then transfer the quilt to my front load washer and let it spin the excess water out, and would dry it over my giant four-line clothesline, using all four lines so that it is supported as evenly as possible, even repositioning halfway through drying so that creases don’t form in the quilt. An option to drying outside is to let the quilt dry flat on a clean floor or carpet.
Because front load washers conserve water, they are NOT good places to wash brand new unwashed fabric quilts. I learned that the hard way! Use a top load washer or a bathtub instead so that there is ample water around the quilt, soak it instead of agitating it, and rinse at least twice to remove all color and any traces of quilt detergent. Front load washers are wonderful for washing quilts that have been previously washed however.
I hesitate to combine fabrics that have been washed with those that haven’t been. Either wash all of them, or none of them in order to keep shrinkage even.
I like the look of antique quilts, and the shrinkage that occurs with washing enhances that antique look.
Spray Starch: Non-washed fabrics still have sizing which makes them more stable, which in turn, helps during the piecing. If you’ve prewashed, you may try spray starching the fabric to ensure more accurate piecing. Please remember that starched fabric would be less pliable for hand quilting.
Loosely woven fabrics are inherently less stable and harder to piece accurately—they would also benefit from spray starch whether they’ve been washed or not.
Densely woven fabrics like batiks are very stable and are wonderful to work with except if trying to hand quilt. They also do not feel as soft and inviting against the skin, a point to keep in mind when making bed quilts.
Ironing: Most fabrics need a little touch-up ironing just to get out the big creases before they can be cut.
About Batting: I love wool batting, Hobbs being my favorite. It is resilient, drapes well, washes well, and needles well. I sometimes use needle-punched 80/20 cotton batting, which handles like a blanket. Thin polyester battings are my third choice, but they are good for quilts that are washed often, as in baby quilts.
Battings benefit from being taken out of their wrappers and refolded several days before you plan to sandwich your quilt. Their fibers relax and they’ll lie much flatter when it’s time to baste.
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