Cindy's Flannel Tips

Dear Dawn:

I've recently been teaching a class on working with flannels for quilts and finally got all my observations organized and have included a copy below. I, like you, decided designs using squares and rectangles work best with flannels. I did try one pattern that had large 6" right triangles and about 3/4 of it went together okay but when I tried to put all 4 sections together I had major problems. So far I've done a flannel Railroad Tie, Trip Around the World, Boston Commons, Framed Square, a star flannel (the not-so-successful one) a flannel Bargello (18 different flannels! Went together like a dream! Only problem was I was using flannels brand new, 1 and 2 years old and could you really tell the difference in the flannels from just 2 years ago.

The manufacturers are improving the flannels, but not enough in my opinion; it's still a fabric you have to be careful with.), a flannel Double Irish Chain, and now I am working on a flannel quilt using Seminole Strips (only the designs based on squares). I've done shrink and fray tests on them and there is so much variability amongst the flannel manufacturers that it makes trying to give yardage requirements a little iffy. I get really irritated at teachers and books that don't address the unusual problems you will encounter when working with flannel. Try not to give me a hard time about pressing the seam allowances open--I'm sticking to my guns! I've also been experimenting with hand-dyeing flannel and it works well but uses a lot more liquid (not cheap but I wanted some specific colors and couldn't find them so did them myself). Hope this information is useful to you.


Cindy Thury Smith
MchineQltr@aol.com

Visit my website at http://members.aol.com/crazyqltr1

Some Tips for Making Quilts From Flannel

  1. Flannel will dull your needle very quickly. Put a new needle in before you begin sewing and discard it (or save it for paper piecing) after you finish your quilt.

  2. Flannel will LINT UP your machine very quickly! To show you how much, brush out your machine before you begin sewing your flannel quilt, then check it after you are done—you’ll be amazed at how much lint it gives off!

  3. ALWAYS pre-shrink flannel before making a quilt! Quilters cottons typically shrink 4-6.6%; quilters flannels can shrink up to 13.3%. Flannels can shrink more than once so you should pre-shrink them in your washer’s HOTTEST setting and dry them in your drier’s HOTTEST setting. Flannels fray more than quilters cottons; you can lose up to an inch along the edge. Because of this shrinking and fraying I strongly urge you to always buy at least an extra 1/4 yard when getting flannels for a quilt.

  4. Flannel does not press as criply as cotton unless you press it longer. A little spritz of starch will help in the pressing. Due to the bulkiness of flannel, I strongly suggest you PRESS YOUR SEAM ALLOWANCES OPEN. It will take you approximately twice as long to press flannel as cotton. Because you’ll be pressing your seam allowances OPEN, I tighten up my stitch length.

  5. It is very hard to rip open stitches on flannel without distorting the fabric so take your time sewing and have a little extra fabric in case you need to cut a new piece.

  6. If you try hand-dyeing flannel, expect to use quite a bit more dye (you’ll need to use more mordant also).

  7. Flannel comes in several weights:

    a. single sided flannel—very lightweight, not recommended for quiltmaking

    b. diaper flannel—double-sided, comes in white, can be hand-dyed

    c. quilters flannels—they have improved in threads/inch count in the last few years, but you still need to look over their weave before you buy

    d. Logger Flannel—also called Chamois Cloth, Lumberjack Plaids, Shirting Flannel. You’ll find these heavier weight flannels at clothing fabric stores; primarily in dark solid colors, plaids and some stripes. Logger Flannel is good for backings especially as they are 60” wide (about $6.00/yard, $4.25/yd. on sale). Because of their heavier weight if you combined them with a flannel pieced top you might have trouble hand quilting through them; I would suggest machine quilting or tacking/tying. Be aware that a flannel-top, cotton batting, flannel backed quilt is very cuddly—and heavy.

  8. A flanned-backed quilt doesn’t slide off the bed—it stays in place!

  9. Because flannel doesn’t have the high thread count (threads per inch) that quilters cottons do they can distort when you make severely angled cuts (such as diamonds, long triangles). You’ll have an easier time sewing designs based on squares and rectangles or strip piecing. Don’t despair—this still allows you lots of variety. Consider sewing a flannel Double Irish Chain, a flannel Bargello, a flannel Burgoyne Surrounded, Puss in the Corner, some Seminole designs, a flannel puffed Biscuit quilt, a flannel Rail Fence, Trip Around the World, Grandmother’s Dream, etc.

  10. A note about BINDING your quilt in flannel. If you have a quilters flannel you can still reasonably do a double-fold French binding. If you want to bind using a Logger flannel, save your fingers and only do a single fold binding.



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