There's no problem with fraying if the quilt is finished. It was only because I washed an unquilted top that I had trouble. The raw edges were exposed to the gyrating action of the water.

I have made one flannel quilt, and it doesn't get washed very much (twice?) so it is in good shape. I wasn't aware of the fraying problem! I am wondering if an iron on interfacing would help with fraying.

Wash and dry the flannel in the dryer at least three times, to get all the shrinkage out of it.

And learn from my mistake! If the cat throws up on the quilt after it's pieced but before it's quilted, DON'T put it in the washing machine! I did that, and when I opened the machine again the quilt top had unpieced itself. Flannel frays like crazy!

It's nice to work with and even nicer to cuddle under, though.

Good luck!

PosyP wrote:
I guess I should be more specific! I have never sewn FLANNEL triangles! And, I don't ever wish to! But, I admire those who try it!

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

Dawn, I'm pretty certain that you have sewn triangles before now otherwise how did you manage to join in with the hst exchanges?

Wow, Heather! You do come up with some challenges! Good for you for trying new things, though! I have never sewn flannel to cotton fabric. And, have never sewn anything but a square (dozens of squares) to each other. No triangles. But, I agree with everyone that you need to wash the flannel a couple of times, and dry (on hot) for max shrinkage. I would definitely wash the cotton fabric, too. And, as Lotti said, find a batting that will shrink, and once the finished quilt is washed, you will get that "crinkly" look. As for the triangle cuts, highly starch the bias line of the flannel! Before cutting! And, as Ritzy said, be sure to allow for a generous seam. (The flannel quilts that I have made usually get highly quilted, so the seams are quite secure.) I would do a test piece, with the flannel and the cotton, and send it through the wash a few times. Just Fray Check the edges of the flannel. This way you can see if the flannel plays well with the cotton, through all of the washings that the quilt will encounter.

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

i love to use flannel.
always prewash - and if you can put it in the dryer - i find the dryer does a lot more shrinking than the washing.
i use liquid starch in the last rinse cycle in the machine (instead of fabric softener)... easy, quick and does the job.
if combining with regular cotton fabric i would prewash and starch this as well - so they will all behave the same.
remeber to clean out the machine every time you change the bobbin - lots of lint.
as long as you do not pre-shrink the batting - you will still get the "crinkly" antique quilt look once the finished, quilted quilt is washed.
have fun with it.
i love the cat!

I've made a couple of flannel quilts and will say as others.... wash and dry well and if your flannel
is a lighter, looser weave..wash twice ! I also used spray starch to stabilize even tho the piecing
was simple. Be generous ! Fabric likes to crawl because of the nap. The soft nap texture will return
when you wash the quilt when you finish. And it does make a lot of fuzz in the machine !

Definitely wash the flannel and as Ann says maybe more than once. My experience is that most flannel shrinks a lot.

all of the above, and dont forget to have small brush near yr machine while sewing, because flannel leaves a lot of lint!

I agree definitely wash the flannel, Maybe two or three times to be sure the shrinkage has stopped. I worked on a vest with flannel as the batting. My flannel was decorater grade (from the decorater section of the fabric store but only comes in white in most stores). It only shrank very minimally but some of my friends working on the same vest had lots of shrinking. Sometimes as much as two dress sizes on the size of the vest/jacket pieces they were making. In this case I would probably prewash my cotton too as it make shrink slightly. I normally do not prewash unless I am using hand-dyes or a mixture of fabrics. Cotton tends to shrink evenly across brands and lines so I am not real worried about that but flannel is very unpredictable for the reasons Ritzy mentioned. Hope this helps, Ann

Heather!

definitely wash the flannel even if it is the best (made in Portugal by the way) - I used some good quality flannel and did an experiment - the washed piece shrunk by almost one inch and a half in length and about 1 inch in width

cheers Jeanine

Flannel comes in different weights and different weaves. Some, the weave is very loose. I know you don't think you want to--but, wash the flannel and dry it before use. It shrinks a lot. The looser weave will probably shrink more than a tighter weave. The loose weave sometimes becomes a problem with fraying. I made a quilt of all flannel, used good quality flannel and used a bigger seam allowance (1/2" or even 5/8"); washed it and dried it in the dryer. It was beautiful. My sister-in-law sent it back asking if I could fix it. Every seam had shredded. I still haven't figure out a way to fix it. I think she put it in the washer and dryer every week. The fabric is not even worn out. So, wash, dry, use larger seam allowance and a shorter stitch length. Hopefully, you will have a quilt that will last.

The amount of shrinkage varies from piece to piece, I think that I have heard the figures of between 3-5% (but don't quote me on that) However, if this is true, for every 100" of yardage you will lose between 3"-5" of length so it depends on how skimped you are for fabric. The width is likely shrink at a different rate to the length - just sayin. This is why we all get a build up of left over scraps - we buy extra just in case!