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4 Responses to “What’s the difference between regular sewing fabric and quilting fabric?”
Basically, you can make a quilt out of any fabric. My grandmother made one out of silk ties, and another out of Velvet.
The type of fabric you buy determines how it will be cleaned, i.e. is it washable as well as the sewing easability. (ties and velvet are not easy to sew with. Many companies sell “quilt fabric” which is usually 100% cotton. They will often have special groupings of several coordinating prints and solids. It is good weight fabric, and generally handles well when sewing.
Yay! Something I know the answer to! I agree with the previous answer, but wanted to add, that most quilter’s will recommend that you do not use different types of fabric in one quilt. As mentioned it effects how you clean, and also how your quilt will look after being cleaned. 100% cotton is the fabric of choice for most quilters for a number of reasons – one being that cotton has “memory” and it holds it’s shape for a long time after creasing or pressing. When washed, a 100% cotton quilt will become soft and looks attractive. It does not pile – those are the little balls of fuzz that grow on some fabrics when washed or worn. Also it is lightweight enough making it ideal for the layering and actual quilting process (an important factor during the time when most quilters hand quilted rather than machine quilt). Another reason I’ve read is that cotton is a more breathable material…so when you use a cotton top, back, and batting, your quilt will be less likely to make you sweat than if you’d used a cotton/poly blend. From what I know the polyester fabrocs were especially popular during the 50’s-70’s quilting era…so it is good to test your old fabrics also…many people choose to use the blend batting as it is less expensive than the 100% cotton batting. I hope that is helpful to you, and good luck with your quilting!
I also prefer cotton, but we have a saying at our guild…”If you want to make a quilt your children will enjoy, buy your fabric from WalMart, JoAnn Fabrics or the Rag Shop. If you want a quilt your great-grandchildren will enjoy, buy your fabric from a quilt shop”.
The reason for this is that the quilt shops receive the highest quality fabric runs, in general, know as the A quality fabrics and usually run about $8 to $9 per yard. Those of a slightly lesser quality, or B fabrics, end up at the chain fabric stores, usually at about $4 to $6 a yard. And of course, we’ve all seen the WalMart specials, typically the cheapest all the way around, for $1 and $2 per yard.
On a side note: I’ve been able to find PLENTY of perfectly wonderful fabric at WalMart for the quilts I make – many charity quilts that will be rough-and-tumble quilts for children – and never pass a WalMart without seeing what they have to offer! You just want to make sure the fabric is 100% cotton, smooth and not stiff, and densely woven so you can’t see through it.
Finally, when you do get your quilt top done and are ready to layer and finish it off, you may want to use one of those wonderful 40% off coupons for JoAnn Fabrics and invest in cotton batting. The polyester batting is a lot cheaper and you may think you’re getting a better deal, but it’s a little more difficult and frustrating to work with. If you are a beginner as I suspect, you’ll be able to work with the cotton batting a lot more easily since it “grips” the other layers and doesn’t shift as much when you’re quilting.
Good luck – and fair warning: this is an addictive pasttime!!!
October 30th, 2008 at 3:30 am
fiedler
Basically, you can make a quilt out of any fabric. My grandmother made one out of silk ties, and another out of Velvet.
The type of fabric you buy determines how it will be cleaned, i.e. is it washable as well as the sewing easability. (ties and velvet are not easy to sew with. Many companies sell “quilt fabric” which is usually 100% cotton. They will often have special groupings of several coordinating prints and solids. It is good weight fabric, and generally handles well when sewing.
November 2nd, 2008 at 1:32 am
raraym
Yay! Something I know the answer to!
I agree with the previous answer, but wanted to add, that most quilter’s will recommend that you do not use different types of fabric in one quilt. As mentioned it effects how you clean, and also how your quilt will look after being cleaned. 100% cotton is the fabric of choice for most quilters for a number of reasons – one being that cotton has “memory” and it holds it’s shape for a long time after creasing or pressing. When washed, a 100% cotton quilt will become soft and looks attractive. It does not pile – those are the little balls of fuzz that grow on some fabrics when washed or worn. Also it is lightweight enough making it ideal for the layering and actual quilting process (an important factor during the time when most quilters hand quilted rather than machine quilt). Another reason I’ve read is that cotton is a more breathable material…so when you use a cotton top, back, and batting, your quilt will be less likely to make you sweat than if you’d used a cotton/poly blend. From what I know the polyester fabrocs were especially popular during the 50’s-70’s quilting era…so it is good to test your old fabrics also…many people choose to use the blend batting as it is less expensive than the 100% cotton batting. I hope that is helpful to you, and good luck with your quilting!
November 3rd, 2008 at 3:20 pm
edhi
I also prefer cotton, but we have a saying at our guild…”If you want to make a quilt your children will enjoy, buy your fabric from WalMart, JoAnn Fabrics or the Rag Shop. If you want a quilt your great-grandchildren will enjoy, buy your fabric from a quilt shop”.
The reason for this is that the quilt shops receive the highest quality fabric runs, in general, know as the A quality fabrics and usually run about $8 to $9 per yard. Those of a slightly lesser quality, or B fabrics, end up at the chain fabric stores, usually at about $4 to $6 a yard. And of course, we’ve all seen the WalMart specials, typically the cheapest all the way around, for $1 and $2 per yard.
On a side note: I’ve been able to find PLENTY of perfectly wonderful fabric at WalMart for the quilts I make – many charity quilts that will be rough-and-tumble quilts for children – and never pass a WalMart without seeing what they have to offer! You just want to make sure the fabric is 100% cotton, smooth and not stiff, and densely woven so you can’t see through it.
Finally, when you do get your quilt top done and are ready to layer and finish it off, you may want to use one of those wonderful 40% off coupons for JoAnn Fabrics and invest in cotton batting. The polyester batting is a lot cheaper and you may think you’re getting a better deal, but it’s a little more difficult and frustrating to work with. If you are a beginner as I suspect, you’ll be able to work with the cotton batting a lot more easily since it “grips” the other layers and doesn’t shift as much when you’re quilting.
Good luck – and fair warning: this is an addictive pasttime!!!
November 5th, 2008 at 2:07 am
sane
any fabric can be used in quilting….
the thing is to really understand the fabric..plus the type of
batting used determines the end result..
cotton…..or cotton 60/40 fusible is what ai use it makes any quilt turn out great.
plus no pins are needed.