Wash quilt to get starch out?

[Linda K.]

I just finished a quilt top that I am ready to machine quilt. I strip pieced the background and appliquéd on top of the strips. I used starch on the fabrics for the top. The batting is cotton. If I wash the quilt after it is done to get the starch out (I have read if you don't it can get attacked by silverfish) will it shrink or pucker if I block it? The quilt is going to hang so I need it to be flat. Would I be better off soaking the top in cold water to get the starch out and ironing it and after quilting it block it by spraying it with water on the floor? Any advice would be really appreciated.

[Margo C.]

Welcome to the forums KwiltyL!

There are a LOT of variables in your project! Did you prewash (preshrink) the fabrics before you starched them? That would have minimized shrinkage at the end, but even just starching and ironing your fabrics probably took care of some of the shrinkage.

If you are using a cotton batt, you WILL get shrinkage from that. SOME cotton batts can be pre-shrunk. Read the directions on the package. Hobb's Heirloom Cotton (80/20) can be submerged in a washerful of hot water to soak for about 5 minutes with no agitation. Drain the water and gently arrange the batt around the outside of the washer tub to avoid stretching and spin the water out. Then dry it in a hot dryer. If you don't preshrink this batt you can expect about a 5% shrinkage rate after washing.

Also be sure to prewash (preshrink) your backing and binding fabrics.

If you do all of that, when you launder your quilt to remove the starch just wash in warm water with mild detergent on a gentle/delicate cycle then block the quilt square and allow it to air dry.

If you want to pre-wash/iron your top before you layer it, you might want to add a line of stay-stitching around the outside edge to protect the ends of all the seams.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

[Linda K.]

Thanks Margo. I did prewash and starch and iron all the fabrics. The directions on the quilt batt say not to prewash it and that it will shrink 1% when it is washed. I do not want the crinkling. The quilt is to be hung and I am hoping to have it lay flat and square on the wall. From what you are saying, it sounds like my best bet would be to wash the quilt top to get the starch out and then block it on the floor using a spray bottle to wet the quilt. Do you know if soaking the quilt top in cold water would remove the starch or do I have to use a detergent or Orvis?

[Mary A.]

Measure the quilt before you wash it. After washing, lay it out on a carpeted floor. Use "T" pins to anchor it to the floor. Use a tape measure to get it to the same measurements as before washing. Use a ruler to make sure the four corners are square. This is assuming that you don't have round quilt! Let dry. It will be fine. 1% is such a minimal amount of shrinkage that it probably wouldn't matter, anyway, but the blocking will take care of that.

[Margo C.]

Thanks Margo. I did prewash and starch and iron all the fabrics. The directions on the quilt batt say not to prewash it and that it will shrink 1% when it is washed. I do not want the crinkling. The quilt is to be hung and I am hoping to have it lay flat and square on the wall. From what you are saying, it sounds like my best bet would be to wash the quilt top to get the starch out and then block it on the floor using a spray bottle to wet the quilt. Do you know if soaking the quilt top in cold water would remove the starch or do I have to use a detergent or Orvis?

If you don't want to add detergent or Orvus: http://www.amazon.com/Procter-Gamble...653&sr=8-1
or: http://www.amazon.com/Quilters-Rule-...653&sr=8-3

try it with just water and let it dry flat. If it still seems stiff, rinse it again until it's soft when it's dry.

[Jo H.]

Margo, I recently used the Quilter's Rule Quilt Soap and was very dismayed with how it reacted with our water where we live. We are on well water. Every fabric I've used with this soap bled and continued to bleed making me think something was wrong with the fabrics. Once I used a different soap, the bleeding stopped. Perhaps the minerals in my well water reacted with the quilt soap and caused this abnormality, but thought I would let others know they may want to test it on something that hasn't already been made into a quilt.

[Margo C.]

Good point, JoJo! And we know that you know about SOAP!! :wink:
I've always had good luck with the Orvus, but it's always wise to pre-test ANY chemicals that you put on or in your fabrics and quilts.

(In case you aren't aware, JoJo makes fabulous hand-made soaps!)