It's been a busy week...three quilts stippled in between entertaining my niece 24/7. This is the last one out of the machine and it's a beaut! This is also Tori's first quilt. I popped over to Tori's house one day while she was working on this quilt, being instructed by two perfectionists, it was fascinating!! Tori sewed a seam that was not quite perfect...it was LESS than a quarter of an inch off and she was told to UNSEW it...and that was just the beginning!! It was a bit like watching Annie with Miss Hannigan and her Evil Twin! (I KNOW I'll pay for that remark!)
The colors are so soft and pretty - I love the fabrics Tori chose, especially the border print. She did a PERFECT job sewing this together - thanks to her Miss Hannigans, they do know their stuff! I stippled this quilt and added in little hearts and Tori's name - about a dozen times, along with the city and date.
Tori's quilt was washed, dried, boxed and is now in the mail to her - she left for college before I could get it finished. I wish I could be there to see her face when she opens the box - hopefully this quilt will remind her of home and of all the people here who love her.
Here's the details: Tori's quilt measures 54x68-inches - the perfect size to snuggle up with. The fabrics were all washed, dried and ironed BEFORE they were cut and sewn.
Riddle me this: Do you wash your fabrics BEFORE you use them?
I'm conducting an unscientific poll...I don't wash my fabrics. Ever. With two exceptions...if I'm using batiks or dark fabric that looks/feels "suspicious." Some fabrics (reds and blacks) will bleed when washed...but if you use a good quality fabric they won't. Years ago you could almost guarantee that red fabrics would bleed...but fabric is not made the same way it was - the dyes are different and bleeding is usually never an issue. AND...there are now products available to take the "bleed" out of fabric should it occur...miracle stuff!
I like my fabric to SHRINK WITH the batting, making the fabric just a bit tighter around all those stitches, so the quilt has a more "puffy" look and feel. If the fabric is washed before hand, only the BATTING shrinks around the quilting, so the quilt has more of a flatter look to it.
The amount of time and energy spent washing, drying and IRONING the fabric before hand seems like such a waste...it just makes more sense to me to use that time SEWING the quilt!
In this picture, I think you can see that Tori's quilt, made with pre-washed fabrics, does not have as much "yummy" as the quilt on the right, which was made with unwashed fabrics. Yummy is a noun, didn't you know?
None of the fabrics in Tori's quilt were "bleeders"...pre-washing the fabrics made the quilt flat. Wonderful but flat. While I'm talking smack and feeling bulletproof (my homage to Toby Keith), I might as well continue...
There IS a NOTICEABLE difference in the look and feel of quilts that are sewn with pre-washed fabrics...I happen to favor UNwashed fabrics and their end result...I rest my case.
Pre-washed vs. Unwashed...Let me know what YOU think and I'll post the results.