pumpkinpatchquilter Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I have always been a pretty religious prewasher. Initially it was because that was how my Mother had always taught me to care for fabric. When I discovered quilting I took a hand quilting class and then learned that for ease of hand quilting, I would want to remove all that sizing and chemicals from the fabric so the needle would smoothly go through the layers. Now that I long arm quilt I find my quilts come in all different states, and truly I haven't thought twice about it. I haven't noticed much difference in ease or quality of quilting from top to top, and some of my clients are avid starch users while others send me tops with nothing at all used on them - and I've had everything from a prewashed top with unwashed backing to nothing washed at all and then layered with starch. I am noticing more and more long armers have strong opinions about this, and I'm wondering if there are factors outside of keeping the quilt square that I hadn't considered or experienced. I am also interested in trying sizing in my piecing and am wondering how this will affect my finished top when I go to quilt it on the long arm. Any thoughts from those of you more experienced than I? Thanks so much! Edited to add - I am pretty sure I used affect/effect wrong so I apologize in advance to the grammar police who might catch me in this! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I like to use Best Press while I press before cutting. I like the way it holds up to handling with a bit a BP or starch if I run out. Unless I'm unsure of the fabric quality and worried about bleeding, I don't prewash. If I do prewash, I prewash ALL the fabric and backing. Other than that, I don't prep my fabrics. I wash all the quilts I make before I use them or give them away, and shrinkage has always been relatively uniform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pumpkinpatchquilter Posted January 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 Thanks for sharing Meg! I do like Best Press as well. I also prewash to keep all my scraps uniform...but I'm more interested in how it changes (if at all) the actualy quilting on your frame. Do you think it makes any noticeable difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enchanted Quilting Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I can't say that starch has caused me any concern. Batiks are always a tension tester along with unwashed wide backings, which must be heavily sized. Interesting topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pumpkinpatchquilter Posted January 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 Ok so that is something I wondered about but forgot to mention - tension - thank you Charlotte! I HAVE noticed that heavily starched/sized fabric does make tension a little more tricky, but to date nothing that has caused me real issue. So glad you brought that up. I honestly haven't used sizing myself - and I'd like to try it - I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a top a client sent with sizing versus starch because I haven't used it...so I'm looking forward to try it out and seeing what happens. I can't say that starch has caused me any concern. Batiks are always a tension tester along with unwashed wide backings, which must be heavily sized. Interesting topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlnewell Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I usually prewash to prevent possible fabrics from bleeding. I quilted a quilt for a friend of mine, batiks of course, and I had drawn a design with the water soluble blue pen. Mistake...the browns/oranges bled. She had to wash the quilt a couple of times, and luckily everything turned out ok. It does seem that if the fabric is starched, there's not as much fraying when handling the blocks and quilt top, which is helpful when using whites to prevent stray threads from showing through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg Posted January 27, 2015 Report Share Posted January 27, 2015 I don't think it makes any difference in the finished product. Once you wash it, it's gone anyway. But I do think it helps the quilting process because firmer fabric stays put better than laundered unstarched fabric. So, while it's on the frame, it doesn't shift as much Clear as mud? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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