Does Your Fabric Suck?

That initial line may be a bit shocking, but getting stretchy fabrics in with, or on quilts is not an inviting proposition for longarmers.

Stretchy fabrics can be Seersucker, Minkee from Benartex, Minky, Fleece, Double Knits, blankets, and T-shirts, or any kind of knits are in the group of fabric that I label as "Sucks", as in Seersucker.

What is so bad about these fabrics? They all stretch in one or two dimensions . . . and that's not good for quilting or longarming!

You might say, "I want it to be so soft." However, the art of quilting, or piecing, or patchwork, require exact placement of tightly woven fabric to make the pieces that are assembled into a design. The fabrics used should have little to no stretch to provide the minimum support for the created designs.

One of the features of the fabrics that "suck" is that they are soft....Great! Another feature is that they stretch....Ugh! It is that last feature, the ability to stretch, that makes them unsuitable for quilting.

In small pieces, Pellon Fusible Interfacing can be used to stabilize the fabric. Stabilized fabric is great for piecing in small areas. In large pieces, such as with the backing, that becomes vary difficult. Thus, stretchy fabric on the back of quilts is a very bad idea.

Can it be done? Yes. However, your longarmer strives to take pride in their work and if you want to give them a very bad day, use Minky on the back of the quilt. It will be soft, and your longarmer will be mad, if, indeed, she will do it.