posted on September 17, 2000 10:53:20 PM new
I was looking through a ton of craft things I have and found alot of squares of white, soft square material that I picked up somewhere. I am thinking this is for quilting, (one of my gonna be phases) so the question is this. Should I wash it first, even though it has been packed away and has no odd smell or anything? So people *want * these things? And should I offer them in a bundle or say batches of 10 or so? It is like squares of batting...is that the word? Stumped here...Thanks!
posted on September 18, 2000 01:53:31 AM new
Assuming that it is batting, I would have two questions: how big are the squares, and is it cotton or polyester? Also, how many are there? There would have to be a lot of 10 to 12 inch cotton batting squares before I would consider listing them. Polyester batting is about six or seven bucks (for a piece for a full size bed) at my local Wal-mart. Cotton, a bit more expensive and sometimes harder to find, so I would suggest you find out exactly what you have before you consider listing. Quilters would also want to know about the "loft" (how thick it is).
As far as washing it, I would let the buyer do it. Some quilters prewash everything, but some don't prewash at all (wave to HCQ). Most quilters that I know do not prewash batting. Not to mention that in that situation, washing them may damage/shred them if you are not careful.
[ edited by BlondeSense on Sep 18, 2000 02:06 AM ]
posted on September 20, 2000 04:21:38 PM new
I know this has come up before, but at the time I didn't need the answer and so I didn't pay attention.
I have a bag of great fabric scraps that I think quilters might like. Somebody posted a sort of minimal size requirement and what cutting, if any, should be done to make them especially attractive. Could a knowledgeable quilter please repost this info? Thanks!
posted on September 20, 2000 04:39:58 PM new
I don't think so. "Printed" sounds more appropriate. Any chance of a jpg?
Hey, sonsie[ (whose request for restoration work I have callously ignored and for which I publicly and very seriously apologize) - I think the easiest way to determine if a scrap is useable or not is to put a (small) Campbell's Soup can over the scrap. If you can cut out a circle, it's big enough; you can also say "These are all different sizes, but each piece is at least as big as the bottom of a standard soup can" and quilters will understand
However, there are a lot of folks who do miniature quilts (1" squares or smaller! Awk!) who can use the really bitty stuff. I'd separate out the pieces that small into another lot and market it to miniature quilt makers.
In any case, just weigh 'em out and remember that 4oz=1 yard of fabric.
Wish I were up to your restoration job. If it's any consolation, somebody just offered me big bucks for a commissioned work and I turned it down. Life's too unpredictable nowadays to commit to any big project.
posted on September 20, 2000 04:47:05 PM new
A jpg? Sure, here it is:
With polyester fabric, isn't it most common for the pattern to be printed on the fabric instead of woven in like it is with knits? I'm not sure how polyester is constructed, but it seems like it would be difficult to use differently-colored materials within the fabric itself.
posted on September 20, 2000 04:52:32 PM new
Yup, that's a print all right.
You can find nearly as many polyesters with woven-in designs as you'll find prints. And there are tons of printed knits available as well. Fiber content and whether it's knitted or woven really isn't much of a guide.
posted on September 20, 2000 05:02:42 PM new
While we're on the subject of quilts, the wife just asked me to look for a quilt hanger. She wants to hang one of her creations in the stairwell of the new house. Me I want to put the sailfish there. Guess who is going to win! Needs to be more the 60", probably 65-66" Anybody have any good sources?
posted on September 20, 2000 06:02:18 PM new
Depends on how much of the hanger you want to show.
If there is (or you want to put) a "sleeve" on the back of the quilt, you can run a dowel through it and mount it with brackets. YOu could use one of those swanky wooden curtain rods with the finials and brackets. You could also use a piece of 1/2"x1" lumber, which I like better because it lets the quilt hang flatter against the wall. There are wooden "hanger" doodads that you can mount every 18" or so, and can be painted or stained (AND polyurethaned! so the stain doesn't damage the quilt) to blend into your decor.
Uh...that was probably incredibly confusing and eminently unhelpful. Here are a couple online quilt "stuff" sites:
quiltsonline.com
clotilde.com (they call them "quilt hanger twins"
You may find what you're looking for through them.
posted on September 20, 2000 08:07:01 PM new
Leigh, don't worry a bit about it! Just be well.
And thanks so much for the info on sizes for quilt pieces. These are all a lot bigger than that...probably 1/8 yard each of 45" cotton from another project I did. I just loved the fabrics so much I hated to throw out the scraps. And now I don't have to!
posted on September 20, 2000 09:13:42 PM new
HCQ: hmmmmmmm... so you don't like liddle widdle itsy bitsy teensie weensie POSTAGE STAMP quilting? I think it is very werry endearing.
posted on September 21, 2000 12:20:07 AM new
Hey, got the quilt people all in one thread!
Question: I was doing some window shopping on ebay and was checking out some quilt auctions (just for the heck of it). I see a lot of auctions for the quilt squares, some of them ending rather high (in my very broke opinion). The thing is, I *know* I've seen the same pattern (in some cases) at the local fabric shop for much cheaper. (My mom is a needle point person, so we go by the craft stores a lot). So, what am I missing?
posted on September 21, 2000 12:52:40 AM newLotsafuzz, my very first auctions on ebay were packets of two inch squares. I remember being pleasantly surprised at the final bids.
There are several different quilts I can think of that take hundreds of different fabrics. Charm quilts, for instance, often use a small simple shape (like a five inch square), but don't use the same fabric twice. It's quite a challenge to find that many different fabrics without having to buy yardage!
Sonsie, one more thing to keep in mind is that long narrow pieces can be a selling point. If I understand you correctly and they are 45 inches long by four or five inches wide, I would mention the word "strips" in your title. Maybe something like "100% cotton fabric scraps / strips for quilters."
Edited cause there is a difference between for and four.
[ edited by BlondeSense on Sep 21, 2000 01:06 AM ]
posted on September 21, 2000 06:46:06 AM newlotsafuzz, BlondeSense is right. What you're "missing" is the "value added" part - the hunting, gathering and preparing (into squares).
The minimum yardage you can buy at a fabric shop is 1/8 yard - which would give you 11 4" squares or 88 2" squares - waaaaay too much for a charm quilt. You're shelling out for fabric you don't want. Now 1/8 yard only costs 50 cents-$1.50, right? So what's the big deal? A twin-sized charm quilt has 1,224 unique squares in it. 1,224 fabrics x .50 per fabric...All of a sudden, paying a dime or even 20 cents a square on ebay doesn't look so bad, particularly when you (a) don't have to cut 1,224 different squares all by yourself, and then figure out how to get rid of the rest. Which is how those charm square lots end up on ebay
1/8 yard strip lots should do really well.
[ edited by HartCottageQuilts on Sep 21, 2000 06:48 AM ]
posted on September 21, 2000 11:05:46 AM new
HCQ: Presumably, however, if one is purchasing alla these little squares from eBay auctions, then one will end up with a quilt which MUST be dry cleaned, ONLY -- as the fabric cannot be washed & shrunk beforehand, if one is dealing with itsy bitsy micro-pieces, instead of 1/8 yard-ages, lol.
