So here are some observations that I have about flannel that you may find helpful.
Cotton flannel is notoriously a low thread count fabric. Not a high thread count like quality woven cottons that we use for quilting. Which is why it is NOT recommended for face masks.
Even the good quality flannels sold at your local quilt shop have a lower count fabric than woven cottons. Flannels purchased at a discount store are often VERY loosely woven.
Flannel also sheds a lot of fiber/fuzz in the process of using it. So, it needs special attention when used in a quilt. The process of making flannel, and making it soft and fuzzy, brushes the fibers to bring up the nap. So that works both for you and against you.
Prewashing
Cotton flannel shrinks more than high quality woven
cottons. So, it is really important to
prewash flannel AND it is a good idea to wash and dry it twice! Flannel keeps shrinking past the first
wash. It is the hot water/air and
the agitation of the washer and the dryer that causes the shrinking. You want to do as much shrinking (and get rid
of any escaping color) before it goes in your quilt.
And guess what? That means you need to buy a little MORE flannel than you would quilting cotton for the same application. You’re going to lose some inches in the shrinking process.
Some people recommend a lingerie bag, but I think that severely limits the agitation of the fabric and in this case agitation is good. Think about fulling wool fabric and the benefits of the agitation in that process.
When you put flannel on the back of a quilt and woven cottons on the front, flannel shrinks more than woven cottons so the back can end up smaller than the front.
Likewise, when you combine flannel and woven cotton pieces on the top of the quilt, flannel will shrink more than the woven cottons and leave your quilt top design askew.
It’s best, if you want to use flannel on the top, to use ALL flannel on the top so it will all shrink at the same rate at the same time, each time it’s washed.
That said, if you want to combine both types of fabric, just be aware of how it will behave after a few washings/dryings. Most people use patterns with larger pieces when sewing with flannel, just to avoid struggling with tiny, loosely woven pieces and risking the shrinkage distortion.
Stretchy
The looser weave/lower thread count of flannel will make it
much stretchier than woven quilting cottons.
When you press it prior to cutting, take care not to distort the yardage
or the individual pieces. Move your iron
up and down as we are taught, rather than scrubbing from side to side.
Should you starch or stabilize with a spray? Maybe. It might give you better results, especially if your pieces are getting small. Try it. If your flannel is nappy on only one side (as the lower grade flannels are), starch or apply a spray stabilizer from the back.
Seam Allowance
Plan to use a 3/8 or ½ inch seam allowance when piecing with
flannel. The looser weave can cause
edges to fray more readily.
If you’re used to making garments with flannel, like pajama bottoms, you’re using a 5/8-inch seam allowance and you don’t notice the fragility much. And you are likely serging or zig zagging the seam allowance. But in quilting, the seam allowance stands alone and the loose weave of flannel needs a deeper seam.
Should you press seams open? I am not a fan of open seams, unless you are bringing a number of seam allowances together in a point – which you are unlikely to do with flannel.
Press to the side – here’s why: Any tension placed on the completed quilt, like someone sitting on it on a bed, for example, will put tension on the seams. If you have pressed them open, the seam can gap and the batting will show through. With a loose weave like flannel, that damage can be permanent. If you press the seam allowances to the side, any tension on the seam from above will still cause a little gap but only the fabric in the seam allowance will show through. And it will be a lot more stable.
Stitch Length for Piecing
If you make a piecing error, it’s going to be very difficult
to pick out the stitches in flannel. Try
it some time. A longer stitch length
could work better for you. If I’m using
larger pieces of anything I usually bump up my stitch length to a 3.0,
anyway. But a longer stitch length also
bumps up the risk of fraying. You make
the decision based on the quality of the flannel you’re using. [And that extra length you bought might save
the day if you need to cut a new piece…]
Keep your machine clean
Flannel sheds a lot of fuzz!
Plan to clean the bobbin area in your machine more often than you
normally do. If you can clean it every
time you change a bobbin – or at least check that area and give it a quick wipe
or vacuum, you’ll have better results. A
clogged bobbin case often leads to broken threads on the top and other wild
stitches.
Thread
Using cotton thread for piecing or quilting should be just
fine. If you use polyester, I would
stick with a good quality filament poly.
My opinion is that the tri-lobal
polys are such a hard, sharp thread, that they could damage the softer flannel
fibers. We will see if I am right in 10-15 years when we look at these flannels
that are quilted with tri-lobal poly.
Needle
Some people find that they have better results sewing on flannel if they use a new needle. I always piece and quilt with topstitch needles and change them often. I like the extra sharpness and the bigger eye.
Binding
Should you bind with flannel? I wouldn’t.
Did you know that the binding on a quilt is the part that gets the most
wear? True. That is why we bind with a double layer of
good quality woven cotton. Back in the
day…we used to use a single layer for binding.
In the 1980’s the “French Fold” binding technique became popular; so
popular, in fact, that no one even calls it that any more. We just do it. So the looser weave of the flannel defeats
the purpose of having a durable binding.
Stick with high thread count woven cotton.
Try it!
These are the Threadmonger’s tips for quilting with
flannel! I used it recently for the back
of a lap quilt for a wheelchair user.
The flannel on the back keeps the quilt in place more readily because of
the grippy nature of the flannel’s nap.
I also used it to line a hand-warming pocket on the lap quilt. I tested it and found it quite comfy! There are lots of cute flannel prints
available for you to play with and with these tips you’ll be feeling the fuzzy
love!
