Nothing warms on a cold day or night like flannel. Flannel brings to mind our favorite childhood footed pajamas or night gown or a favorite old shirt. Flannel is a great fabric choice for quilting because of its warmth and its association with good memories.
If you have never quilted with flannel, there are a few tips worth knowing before your first flannel quilting project.
When buying flannel, roll a little off the bolt for closer observation. If you stretch it out and hold it up against light, you can see any thin spots that might weaken the integrity of the fabric.
Some thin spots are okay, but take not of how many you see in the area you have pulled off. A flannel fabric that has too many weak spots to cut around will only ruin your quilting project if a thin spot works its way accidentally into your project.
It seems as though flannel that is printed is stiffer than woven flannel. The answer for this is that the dyes used in the printed flannel add thickness to the fabric. If you don’t know how to tell whether flannel fabric is printed or woven, it’s very easy.
Just look at the back side of the flannel. If it is woven, the pattern will look the same on the back as it does on the front side of the fabric. The back side of printed fabric will look as though there is a design on one side that does not show totally on the back.
Woven fabric frays much easier than printed fabric because the dyes help hold some of the fray down.
Flannel varies by manufacturer. Always wash and dry your flannel before starting your project. Use the warmest settings possible considering the color of your flannel fabric on both your washer and drier.
Some flannel shrinks as much as 5 percent. It’s best to preshrink your fabric instead of getting it all done then having it shrink. Finish the pre-preparation work by sizing your flannel fabric.
Flannel frays easily, which is great for rag quilt projects, but not so great for other quilt piecing projects. To accommodate the fray possibility, cut your pieces a little larger to allow for a bigger seam allowance.
For instance, instead of the typical one-quarter inch seam allowance, consider bumping the allowance up to one-half inch. Press your seams open when you piece with flannel, too.
If you are using flannel for backing of your quilt project, consider running around all the edges of the fabric with an over lock or serging stitch first. This will help prevent fraying around the edges of your backing
If you are using your machine to piece or quilt your flannel fabric projects, you will need to keep your machine clean. Flannel creates lots of fuzz that can build up on your machine.
Keep your small machine brush handy and keep the flannel dusted out as you work. You will also need to change your needle periodically for the same reasons. Plus, flannel tends to dull needles quickly.
Rag quilts plump up beautifully when flannel fabrics are used. To make snipping the fabric easier, use spring loaded snippers instead of traditional scissors.
The spring loaded snippers fit easily into the palm of your hand and use a motion more like squeezing a stapler than traditional scissor cutting.
If you have a reasonably large project to snip for ragging, regular scissors will make your hands cramp and ache quickly. Keep your snippers sharpened to avoid achy hands, too.
If you are working on a rag quilt project using flannel and are not happy with the amount of fraying you get after a washing and drying cycle, check the quilt to see if you have made enough snips in the seams.
Generally, the snips cut into the seams should be made at about every one-quarter inch. If your cuts are already spaced at quarter inch intervals, continue washing and drying the quilt until you get the desired fraying results.
The project will plump more with each cycle through the washer and drier.
 |
 |
| Flannel is my favorite fabric to use for baby quilts. |
T-shirt quilt made with flannel in addition to the t-shirts. |
Happy Quilting!
Penny Halgren
www.How-to-Quilt.com
www.TheQuiltingCoach.com
www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com
©2009, Penny Halgren
Penny is a quilter of more than 27 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.
This article courtesy of http://www.How-To-Quilt.com/. You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.
How to make a baby quilt, including tips on fabric, design, binding and backing; get expert tips and advice on making a quilt in this free instructional video.
Visit http://www.lifefrugalandsimple.com for show notes. Duration : 0:9:39