# I'm learning to Quilt! Help!



## Leister Square (Feb 7, 2010)

So I have a book on 3-fabric quilts and I chose a fairly simple one where you make one block you can lay out in different ways. Have my mat & rotary cutters, bought my rotary ruler. The author says she never pre-washes her fabric unless it's for a baby quilt. What do you do? Pre-wash or not? Seems like cotton would shrink a lot. I like to wash my bedding pretty regularly! Also, I was going to make the 36"x36" small quilt. On second thought, I LOVE the fabrics I chose (I basically picked one of hers and attempted to match the colors and print--did pretty well I think.) They are luscious! I hate to make a small one when I really want a big one out of this fabric. I'm having coffee and contemplating going back with my 50% Joann's coupon to pick up the remaining few yards to go bigger. Thoughts? I'm not new to sewing but definitely new to quilting!


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## Dandish (Feb 8, 2007)

On the prewashing, there are definitely two distinct camps. I always ALWAYS prewash. There can be finishes on the fabric oftentimes that bother me, and yes, cottons do shrink. If you want a really crinkly/old-timey looking quilt, don't prewash at all. I find I get plenty of crinkly if I prewash my fabrics and use a cotton/cotton-poly batting (of course, not prewashed). I also prewash because although it's relatively rare now compared to years ago, fabrics can bleed/run. Prewashing with a Shout color catcher can save things. Batiks also tend to run more than others, especially deep blues/reds. If you decide to prewash and want that stiffer "hand" that fabric off the bolt has, use starch when pressing. Niagara starch in the pump bottle is wonderful, smells good (or comes unscented), and is MUCH cheaper than stuff they sell in the quilt shop. This will help with more precise cuts, too.

As far as going large, when I was starting I did about the same as you. I ended up going back to Joann 3 times to buy more fabric because I kept wanting to go bigger, ended up with a generous queen size. In retrospect, I truly think that starting smaller is better. Get familiar with techniques and comfortable sewing. Plus, think about if you are going to quilt it yourself or send it out. Yourself? Machine or hand? Large can be difficult to maneuver through a standard domestic machine if you have never done it (and sometimes even if you have). Hand quilting? Plan on a LOOOONG time to finish it, depending on how much time you can devote to it. Send it out to be quilted? Then it really doesn't matter!

You will forever be happening on luscious fabrics! lol - so don't worry about that.

Whatever decisions you make, have fun, enjoy the process, learn as you go, don't sweat the small stuff. Next time'll be better. and better. and better.


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## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

I'm with Dandish that there are definitely two prewash camps and I'm in the opposite one from her.  I HATE to prewash and don't do it unless it's for a swap here. I like working with crisp fabric and have way too much of it to spend my time washing and putting the starch back in! I wash the finished piece in cold water and tumble dry on low and have never had a problem.

As far as what size you should make-you really want the big one, have some sewing experience and have picked a simple pattern, so I say go for what you want!


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## SLFarmMI (Feb 21, 2013)

I always prewash. I've had too many fabrics bleed on me to risk not prewashing. You can get the soft, crinkly look by using a cotton batting and washing the quilt after you're finished. Warm and Natural batting crinkles up nicely.


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## Leister Square (Feb 7, 2010)

Thanks everyone. I'm hand "soaking" fabric in the sink now (separately of course). No sign of running dye but a long time ago, my great uncle worked in the fabric mills of North Carolina and he warned us to "always wash it before wearing it." I will probably give it a small bit of starch when I iron it. I'm glad I went back when I did because the focal fabric I chose was almost gone! I needed 1.5 yards more, and there were 1.5 yards minus 2 inches. So...I think (hope) there will be enough. Apparently it was on clearance at Joann's. 

A tip: When I was checking out, I used two 50% off one item coupons. The lady mentioned that if I go to their app store there were more of those 50% coupons on it. I'm going to check it out tonight. I did buy all cotton batting in twin size because the way they described the way it would look sounded good. Sort of old? Anyway, I'll be sure to post a picture or two and let you know (more like ask tons of questions) how it's going! Thanks.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Since you bought it at Joann's, prewash it. You may also need to starch it after you wash it so it will obey you better.


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

I never pre-wash. Hate ironing and I have to do enough pressing when making a quilt that I don't want to do more. I use a poly batting so I don't get much shrinkage at all. If you use a cotton and don't want much shrinkage, soak the cotton batting and dry it in a dryer on low heat. That will shrink it enough that it won't make the finished quilt too wrinkley when washed the first time. 
I've used Hobbs cotton batting before and was amazed at how much it shrunk when I washed it. So for cotton batting, I always wash it before using.


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

I prewash everything that I sew. God only knows where it's been.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

Yet another who never pre-washes (at least new fabric) unless it's an extremely dark fabric.
Ardie makes a good point for vintage, second-hand, etc, though!


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## Leister Square (Feb 7, 2010)

So can anyone tell me more about the cotton batting? The book I have says it will give the quilt "an antique" look after it's made up and then washed. Does antique=wrinkled?


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Yes, antique = wrinkled. I am hand quilting a baby quilt with cotton batting. I'll never do that again. If you use cotton batting, plan on machine quilting. As for prewashing, back in the day we prewashed everything because the fabric bled. Today, few fabrics will bleed, but a dark brown, black, dark red or green may bleed a little. I prewash in order to pre shrink. High end fabric will usually not shrink, but some will. Buying from Joanne's your fabric may shrink a little. Snip off the four corners of each fabric piece and put it in the machine on final rinse. Then, either iron it right out of the machine or put it in the dryer on 'cotton' setting. This gets the sizing out and shrinks it. With the sizing out, you will see how heavy your fabric really is. You may need to starch it.


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## Leister Square (Feb 7, 2010)

Thank you. I will be ironing and starching--the fabric will need it after washing. I gather most folks buy quilting fabric from places other than Joann's. A quilting shop? 

Yesterday two of my 20 year old son's friends came over to learn to sew! Two girls. I first showed them the dozens of patterns I had to pick, or they could pick from the store. They chose a poodle skirt I already had. We read the pattern, figured out what they needed and went to the store to get it. That was 10 a.m. We came home and preshrunk the fabric while eating pizza. Then we started cutting out. The pattern also had a petticoat that they absolutely had to have! So we started cutting everything out. We then went to the machine and they each completed their petticoats. At 7:10 p.m.! The skirts will wait til later this week when they have time again, but they were thrilled with those petticoats (netting attached to a "yoke" with an elastic waist). They took them and I think wore them later that night when the bunch of them went for icecream! It's good to pass on these skills-I'd never done it before except for a neighbor who learned a lot as we re-decorated her bedroom. The girls were so thankful and happy. All the while my quilt was calling my name -- please start me, please start me!


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## ginnie5 (Jul 15, 2003)

It just depends on my mood really. The batiks for dd's quilt I did prewash though. I only use cotton batting and I handquilt. I love that wrinkly look.


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## homemaid (Apr 26, 2011)

I never prewash and I use cotton batting. When I wash the quilt the first time I add white vinegar to the water and a color catcher cloth. Never had any trouble with bleeding onto the quilt. When the quilt is a gift i give washing instructions with it. I am a hand quilter and have done about 30+ mostly queen or king this same way. I guess it is preference. I like the look of the cotton krinkle on my quilts and I quilt about 8 to 10 stitches per inch and like my stitches pulled a bit tight. My neighbors (Amish) use all Polly batting and quilt much looser than I. It is all in what you like in a finished product..


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## Leister Square (Feb 7, 2010)

Update: I got my squares all done. They're not TOO bad for a first try. They were supposed to be 12.5" each, but I found most of them were 12" and some even slightly smaller than that. So I decided to trim them all to 11.75" and then use a slightly larger border. I am thinking ahead to quilting it ... I want to do it on the machine free hand. It looks like I need to practice quite a bit before trying it on my baby. Any ideas? I don't want to send it out--that defeats the purpose of learning to quilt. Plus, it's a first quilt, a twin, and a simple pattern--not worth getting it done probably.


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## Leister Square (Feb 7, 2010)

Meant to say: I'll be checking my 1/4" seam allowance!!


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

If you're buying first quality fabrics (quilt shop) you really don't "need" to pre-wash, just make sure to use a Shout brand color dye sheet in the wash when the quilt is finished, it will catch any dye run off. 

If you're buying "seconds", JoAnn fabrics, Hancoks, Walmart, etc, then I'd recommend pre washing.

I don't prewash, but I do heavily starch all my fabrics prior to cutting them. This shrinks them up like washing, but they hang dry so don't have the shrinkage from the dryer.

Starching your fabric makes for much more accurate cutting and piecing.

Instead of trying free hand on your first quilt without any practice, why not go for something classic with straight line quilting? Follow each seam with a line of stitching a 1/4 inch out (or use the edge of your presser foot for simplicity's sake) or cross hatching?


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## Garnet (Sep 19, 2003)

I have always prewashed all fabric - whether it's from quilt shops or other stores. I did a demo for a quilt shop's demo days. There is always some shrinkage with cotton fabrics. I had to reduce my pattern, because nominal 45" fabric is sometimes not that wide. And one fabric was not much more than 41" after prelaundering.


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## Leister Square (Feb 7, 2010)

CJ, there are a couple templates in the back of my book with straight lines around the corners of each square-type-of-thing. Perhaps that would be easier for the first one


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

If you want the wrinkled antique look, preshrink your fabric (you can test it, but if it's not from a better fabric store I'd wash and dry it), but use cotton batting that you did not preshrink. This way, the shrinkage is consistent throughout the quilt.


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## Leister Square (Feb 7, 2010)

I finished a twin quilt top! I have to wait to get my slant shank walking foot (had to order online) before attempting to machine quilt the top. While it's not perfect, and by no means intricate or detailed, it's an accomplishment for me. 

Question: I had a lot of trouble keeping the bottom layer of pressed seams in the right direction when sewing other seams. I resorted to using pins but even that was tricky as I had to slow down and check under to make sure it wasn't turning. Any ideas? Thanks.


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## Dandish (Feb 8, 2007)

Yay! Let us see a picture of that quilt top!


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## Chixarecute (Nov 19, 2004)

Congrats! on finishing your first. 

As far as the way those seams lay...well, I am no expert , nor do I have great skill, (and I used to worry about seams too), but I know you can't tell from looking at mine where the hidden seam lays, wonky or not, and...besides...the batting helps hide those little inconsistencies. Maybe with really light colored/white fabrics it could be more of an issue.

Best advice I ever got was from a friend who got me into quilting, who learned this from the gal she took classes from, "Don't worry, have fun, it'll be fine," and, from Pirates of the Caribbean, "It's really more like guidelines." 

So, don't worry about the rules, have fun, and know each quilt is an accomplishment if you enjoyed the process and learned at least one thing that helped you improve.


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## Tinker (Apr 5, 2004)

Welcome to a new addiction! Can't wait to see pics.


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