How to Buy Cotton Quilting Fabric – Part II

Not wanting to get too technical here, I’ll spare you all of the details, but suffice it to say that even with 100% cotton fabric, there is variety.

First there is the weave.

Poplin, chino, chenille and velveteen can all be 100% cotton. These fabrics are generally heavier than traditional quilting fabric, and may have a particular texture in their finish – like the fuzzy velveteen. They would be fine used in large pieces, but you wouldn’t want to try to make ½” strips from any of these fabrics.

Good Quilting Fabrics

Broadcloth or plain-weave cotton – this medium weight fabric can be sewn easily, without slipping and sliding, and allowing smooth (and not bulky) seam allowances.

Homespun – this fabric is woven with already-dyed threads. Generally these fabrics are solids, plaids, stripes, or checks.

Flannel quilting fabric is woven using a bulkier cotton thread, and can seem kind of fuzzy. (Nice quilting fabric for a baby or a cold winter night.)

Chintz – this fabric has a high thread count and a glazed finish. Although it adds some interest to your quilt, the thread count presents some challenges to hand quilting, it may pucker as you sew, and pins and needles may cause permanent holes – not too attractive in a finished quilt.

Pima – this fabric is a very high quality cotton, ranking right up there with Egyptian cotton. It has a special, elegant feel to it, and the Pima cotton I have used has a high thread count.

Thread Count

You could get very familiar with all of the numbers and learn all about statistics. Then the numbers on the end of the bolt would mean something to you. If the numbers are there. I have found that often those stats are not on the bolt ends.

Or, you could do a 10 minute study in a fabric shop and see the difference. Some fabrics have more threads per inch than others. If you hold a single piece of the fabric up to the light, some can be easily seen through. Those have a loose weave. They may be really pretty, but they usually do not make a pretty quilt.

I always stay away from fabric with a loose weave. Flannels are the most guilty of that behavior. Some of them have such a loose weave, that it feels like they will fall apart in my hands. If the weave is too loose, the quilting stitches cause the threads in the fabric to break, leaving holes in your quilt. Another possibility is that the batting will “beard” – fibers of the batting will start migrating to the outside of your quilt through the threads. This results in a quilt with hairs (a beard). There’s not much to be done about that.

On the other hand, fabric with high thread counts tend to be more difficult to hand quilt.

Front or Back?

Most fabric is colored using a printing process – kind of like printing a newspaper. If you look at the wrong side of the fabric, it could be completely white (I will not buy fabric like that, since [to me anyway] that tends to be cheap quilting fabric that will remain stiff or will fall apart in a quilt.)

Sometimes the dye on printed fabric actually goes through to the back, so it is difficult to tell which is the right side and which is the wrong side. I like that kind of fabric!

Then there is batik quilting fabric. The process for batik involves dying the fabric in vats of dye, and the fabric threads absorb the color (except where wax is applied to prevent the color from absorbing).

Since Homespun fabric is made from already-dyed threads, it looks the same on the front and back.

Consider the quilt

In choosing your fabric, it helps to consider the quilt you are making. A quilter asked me once whether she should use only homespun fabric to make a rag quilt, since both sides of the fabric will show in the exposed seam allowances. This is certainly a consideration. If that makes a difference to you, then you should use only homespun fabric. It could be that the white of the back of the fabric will add some interest to the fringed seams.

Above all, remember this is your masterpiece – make it your way!

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren
www.How-to-Quilt.com
Inspiration and Education for Beginning Quilters

www.Rag-Quilt-Instructions.com
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Penny is a quilter of more than 24 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.

©2006, Penny Halgren

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