Learning Never Stops

Joel Dewberry Notting Hill Pristine Poppy (midnight)
Joel Dewberry Notting Hill Pristine Poppy (midnight)

I hate to shatter your illusions, but on many things I am no expert 😉 and can always learn something. Recently I bought some home dec fabric to make a bag (or a couple of bags, really). I got it and realized I didn’t know how to deal with it.

I always pre-wash. I even pre-wash Jelly Rolls and Layer Cakes. The smell of the chemicals from the fabric when I iron unwashed fabric makes me break out in a rash. I am not ranting or proselytizing; I am not telling you what I do. There are no quilt police on this blog. I encourage you to do whatever you want that allows you to make many, many quilts.

I have made accessories and small items with home dec fabric before, but it wasn’t yardage. Mostly I used scraps from various sources, such as FabMo. I almost never buy home dec yardage so the question of pre-washing has never come up. Most of the home dec fabric I have used doesn’t smell (off gassing) by the time I get it, is in relatively small quantities and is made from specialty fibers so I don’t think of pre-washing.

However, with the bags I want to make, I am going to be pressing a lot and don’t really want to wear a mask while I make the bag, thus the question of pre-washing came up. I contacted Lindsay and Charlie over at Hawthorne Threads and they pointed me to a post on Make It Love It.com. It talks generally about pre-washing, but not specifically about home dec fabric.

I am using home dec fabric for the bag, because I want the added body and strength beyond quilt weight fabric. Will the finishes wash off and leave me with a limp mess? Can I replace the body/finishes with Mary Ellen’s Best Press?

Do you have any ideas, thoughts, wisdom to share? By the time you read this I might have already washed it.

Author: Jaye

Quiltmaker who enjoys writing and frozen chocolate covered bananas.

12 thoughts on “Learning Never Stops”

  1. Heya Jaye – I have made a bag with home dec fabric before (from JoAnn’s), and I did NOT prewash it first. However, it has been washed several times since (it is many years old now). And it has faded a little, but not crazy. And there is not a big “sheen” on it anymore. But it is definitely soft and a bit more pliable, which I like. The think with home dec is it can be a bit stiff, and so washing it can work out sometimes, as in this instance. Good luck with yours – I’m sure washing will be fine. I know what you mean about those chemical smells!

  2. If it is cotton, you can probably wash it. If it is not mostly cotton, all bets are off. It will probably fade though and as you said, it will be softer when the finish washes off.

  3. Will you be quilting or lining the bag? That will add body, though a fusible interfacing could help keep it from going completely limp. Some home dec fabrics have something similar to Scotchguard on it, though it’s usually indicated on the bolt or selvedge.

    1. Thanks. I am planning (and you know how plans go!) on making the A Day in the Park Backpack and another Petrillo Bag out of this fabric. Both patterns require different interfacing, which will give it body. Excellent point. I will also look at the selvedge. Thanks.

  4. It is probably too late for this but with those types of fabrics I sew them shut so all raw seams are sewn together and then wash how I would like to wash them after they are made. This keeps fraying at a minimum and if the fabric won’t stand up to being cleaned, then I want to know that before I spend all that time making!

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