my eBay store for other hintsWhat kind of fabric should you use for making a quilt ? That question is often asked and I am going to answer that question for you.

If you are going to make a quilt that is going to be used, and laundered, then the answer is cotton. Good quality cotton, not just any cotton.  Cotton, 100 % cotton, irons well, washes well, time and time again and it is so nice to work with.

The cotton that you choose for the pieced top should be the same quality  cotton that you will buy for the back of the quilt. And don't forget about the batten, or the filler.  If you want your quilt to wash well and shrink at the same rate then you must use the same quality fabric for all layers of your project. For example, if you used good cotton for the pieced top , then you used poly fiber filling for the middle layer and less quality cotton for the backing, when you wash the quilt the three layers will shrink and pucker at different rates. What you will have after only a few washes is a wrinkled, puckered uneven mess.

With all the time and effort you put into a quilt, you would want it to look just as nice after a washing as before a washing.  Now, one more thing to consider, if you like the look of Grandma's quilt and don't want to wait 25 years, then use a dense , needle punched cotton batten for your filler along with 100% cotton pieced top and 100% cotton for the back and after you have washed it once or twice you will get that soft, worn look. The main trick is DO NOT PRE WASH YOUR FABRICS.

If you like your quilts to look crisp and flat, then use the same good quality fabrics , but PRE WASH everything before you begin piecing your quilt.  That way your quilt will not pucked and it will not give you that soft well used look. These hints are for lap quilts and bed size quilts. If you are making a wall hanging it is different, you will not be using it or washing it and so you do not want that worn and washed look.  In this case you can use silks, velvets, wool, and any other fabrics and it wont matter, the look is what is important in a wall hanging, not the " washability" of a quilt. I hope this information has helped you.