"Rules" for Wholecloth quilts

[Jules M.]

I want to make a wholecloth quilt in the 100" square range... for the queen bed in the guest/formerly daughter's room. (She moved out in '07... is it still "her" room???)

I want to use a cotton/silk blend fabric that I'll hand dye myself. It comes the usual 40" wide. Is it still an official wholecloth if I piece 3 sections together to get the "whole"?

I'm going to dye it a dark fuschia and maybe quilt with purple thread. :lol:

[Renata L.]

My understanding of wholecloth is that the quilt is made up of a single fabric (therefore, not pieced blocks, not appliqued). For the size you're making, it would be impossible to find a single piece of fabric that big but the fact that you are using only one fabric should qualify it as wholecloth. Will you be doing any trapunto work on it? I look forward to seeing your quilt--hope you will show it to us. I defer to the experts, but that is how I read the definition of wholecloth. Have fun with it.

[Nancy R.]

It all depends on what you want to do with the quilt. If it is just for your own bed, does it really matter if it falls under one person's definition of wholecloth, but not under another's? If you want to enter it in a show, you need to read the rules of each show carefully. Some shows don't have separate categories for wholecloths so it doesn't matter what you do and you can follow your heart. Others have a single wholecloth category (or multiples depending on size but using the same definition). Still others (like MQS) have multiple wholecloth categories -- traditional and innovative. So, the best thing to do would be to look at the rules for your favorite show and follow those, then see what categories you can fit into in other shows. Oh, and the rules can change from year to year so be careful to reread the rules for your show if it takes you a couple of years to complete the quilt.

[Nancy R.]

For the MQX show, the guidelines say that the only piecing on a wholecloth can be to piece the same fabric to itself to make it large enough. So in their view, yes, it's still a wholecloth if you have to put 2 or 3 sections of the exact same fabric together to make the top the right size for the quilting to be done on it. That and the binding are the only things that can be 'pieced'.

A word of caution: TEST TEST AND TEST AGAIN!! For color fastness... A friend who makes amazing silk quilts has had problems with them bleeding when she has washed out the blue marker and blocked them even though she had prewashed the fabrics multiple times. In your case, you don't want the quilt to bleed every time you wash it. Perhaps a wash with Synthrapol after dyeing and then if it's good, do a wash in Retayne to make sure it won't bleed again. Do this all before you piece the top. Don't want any surprises as this is a monumental undertaking!

FWIW The trapunto shadow wholecloth I made, which is 49 x 49, took me over 60 hours to do the cutaway and quilt. So a king sized one would surely be a labor of love masterpiece!! Can't wait to see it!!

[Jules M.]

Will you be doing any trapunto work on it?

I don't plan on trapunto. I'm thinking either wool batting over 80/20 or just the wool. ???

[Jules M.]

It all depends on what you want to do with the quilt. If it is just for your own bed, does it really matter if it falls under one person's definition of wholecloth, but not under another's?

Great points! For now, I'm making it for me, my enjoyment of making it, and for the guest room. I could change my mind and enter it but then will only enter where I fit the rules. I like how you said this... and helped me think it out.

[Jules M.]

For the MQX show, the guidelines say that the only piecing on a wholecloth can be to piece the same fabric to itself to make it large enough. So in their view, yes, it's still a wholecloth if you have to put 2 or 3 sections of the exact same fabric together to make the top the right size for the quilting to be done on it. That and the binding are the only things that can be 'pieced'.

A word of caution: TEST TEST AND TEST AGAIN!! For color fastness... A friend who makes amazing silk quilts has had problems with them bleeding when she has washed out the blue marker and blocked them even though she had prewashed the fabrics multiple times. In your case, you don't want the quilt to bleed every time you wash it. Perhaps a wash with Synthrapol after dyeing and then if it's good, do a wash in Retayne to make sure it won't bleed again. Do this all before you piece the top. Don't want any surprises as this is a monumental undertaking!

FWIW The trapunto shadow wholecloth I made, which is 49 x 49, took me over 60 hours to do the cutaway and quilt. So a king sized one would surely be a labor of love masterpiece!! Can't wait to see it!!

Thanks for the clarification for the MQX show. I don't know if I'd ever enter it anywhere but that is what I wondered... does it count as wholecloth.

Yes, I'm a big fan of Synthrapol. I have done other silk blend quilts that I've dyed and washed in Syn 2x after dyeing and then after quilting. And with aiming for a darker dye, I do want to make sure I don't have bleeding later. Great reminder!