Hey there quilters! My alarm went off at 9 this morning and boy did it feel great to sleep in. However, a long night of peaceful, uninterrupted sleep will inevitably lead to restlessness and the urge to jump out of bed and do something in the morning. While my hubby remained in the warm bed, snoozing away, I heated up yesterday's coffee, put on a load of laundry, and found my happy place: the sewing room. As a side note, I bought a gold wingback chair from a thrift store for $35 and an entire bag of upholstery fabric swatches for a buck. Soon, my happy place will be the home of a new-to-me throne on which I can sit and read, hand quilt, and write my blogs. Stay tuned for progress :)
Anyways, back to my morning. I ironed. Last night I washed and started ironing all the fabric for the next quilt that I'm making for myself. This morning I finished ironing. I know that it sounds tedious and frankly quite boring, but I truly enjoyed myself. I stood quietly under the Christmas lights, sipping my coffee, and passing the warm, steamy iron over piece after piece of rich, beautiful fabric. I fell in love with the colors and patterns of every one. I had time to think, breathe, enjoy the silence. And get the idea for this blog post. Several birds with one stone. No more gushing about the joys of ironing. Here's the point. I'd like to share some tips on preparing your fabric for the cutting mat. I know I'm still a beginner, but I've learned the hard way so you can take my word for it :)
1. Prewash. Always prewash. I have made one quilt top without pre washing. I can't say that it turned into a hot mess (although, design wise it is), because I haven't finished it or tried to wash it. But I'm terrified. I know that there are tons of quilters who don't think it's necessary, but I always pre wash my fabric. It prevents the quilt from getting distorted when you wash it later, and it also just makes it smell good...like you.
2. Don't wait! I used to wait until I knew exactly what I was going to do with my fabric before I washed it. While this is a good rule for the cutting process (made that mistake a few times), it is really unnecessary for washing. Just throw your fabric in the washer on the shortest cycle possible. I think on my machine I actually just use the extra rinse cycle, which takes about ten minutes. The main point is to saturated the pieces, and then get them to the dryer where they will shrink. Once your fabric is washed, it is ready for you to use the second you get a brilliant idea!
3. Leave the individual pieces folded. I can't tell you how many times I've stood at the washer with a pair of scissors trying to separate all of the tangled threads that have all of my fabric bound together. Then I tried leaving the pieces folded in half, or sometimes into quarters. It was fabulous! The fabric still shrinks the way you want it to, but you don't loose thread, or end up with a tangled mess. This is especially helpful when you're washing 20 different fat quarters at once!
4. Pump iron. Once you have a project/pattern in mind, pull out all the fabric and iron it. Set your iron on the highest temperature and use lots of steam and starch. This is a great time to think through your project; how all the pieces will fit together, how you want the colors and patterns of the fabric to interact with each other, how it will be used, how you will finish it. Ironing time is brainstorming time. Let it pour!
5. Respect your time. This one may sound a little odd, but my main point here is to not waste your time. Don't iron fabric before you're ready to use it because it will most likely get folded and wrinkled again. Also, lay fabric as flat as you can on a table/counter, folding only once if necessary. This will prevent wrinkles, and save you from ironing all over again.
I hope this helped prepare and inspire some of you for your next (or first!) quilting or sewing project. Happy Tuesday!!!
LB
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