My husband bought me some really, really awesome flannel fabric for Christmas. The problem is the last time I tried to work with flannel it seemed to shred apart at the edges before I could get it sewn together. Is there something I was doing wrong? Is there some way to prevent this from happening? HELP PLEASE! :-)
Hi Kelli,
I've never had that happen to me with flannel. I know that appliquérs use some thing to prevent fraying, but not sure if what you're experiencing is too much for the product.
Good Luck
What's the name of the product? Do you know? It could be that the last time I worked with flannel I was just learning and I may have handled it too much and caused excess fraying. I was also using some cheap material. That may have been part of the problem too. I just want to make sure that there isn't something I should be doing before I screw this beautiful fabric up.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/19757915?adid=22222222227015434035&wmlspartner=wlpa&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=&wl3=21486607510&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=sem
Its called Fray Check
Here is one I found, I have not used any of these products, maybe someone in the applique group can help you more. I do agree with you about over handling fabric and fraying.
I have always found that not washing it beforehand helps tremendously. Also, use pinking shears to cut around the fabric to stop fraying.
Mooresville, NC
Nice hubby Kelli. The last flannel I worked with did not fray all that much, it does stretch easily. As for the Fray Check, it does work but it would take a boat load to do a whole quilt...
Life is like a quilt...bits & pieces, joy & sorrow, stitched with love
Kelli, using pinking shears or a scalloped rotary blade will help with the cut. I would also allow extra seam allowance and make seams slightly wider to give a little extra reassurance in the event that the edges do ravel a bit.
As someone else said, nice hubby.
Enjoy. Can't wait to see what you do with it.
From Western New York
I like Darlene's advice. I keep meaning to buy a scalloped or pinking rotary blade, but I never think of it when I'm at the local quilt shop.
The last flannel I worked with behaved nicely until I washed the quilt. It was a "rag" quilt, so I wanted it to fray at that point. The seams were a full inch as specified in the pattern.
On the banks of the Mississippi River in north central Minnesota (Brainerd lakes area)
I work with flannels a LOT! I always use my pinking shears and make sure that my seams are at least 1/2". I know that in quilting we try to stick to 1/4", but with the flannels, and some of the cheaper fabrics I've used in the past, I try to use a bit larger allowance. The last thing I do is shorten my stitch length. It seems to hold together better.
Good luck!
Chicagoland, Illinois
Thank you guys for the advice. I have a pinking rotary blade I will try and will increase my seem allowance and shorten my stitches. I will let you know how it works.