prewashing cotton batting

Martha wrote:
I've just made a try-piece with Warm and Natural cotton batting and
washed it. I get a nice crinkly effect.

But what if I don't want that effect? Can I prewash the batting and
have it stay whole?


Water is good. Agitation is bad. You can pre-shrink your Warm &
Natural batting by putting it in the bathtub and soaking it in warm
water, pressing the excess water out of it, then drying it flat in the
sun. If I put a sheet under it before I begin the process, I find
moving it easier as I can lift the sheet, not the batting which would
tear it. I've heard you can soak it in the washing machine too and use
the spin cycle to remove excess water. What you don't want to do is
agitate in the machine. That's the back and forth motion. It will
result in cotton balls.


On the other hand, if you don't want the crinkly effect, might you try
another batting that doesn't shrink? What about flannel? I don't mind
pre-washing fabric, but pre-shrinking batting is a pain in the neck even
for a baby quilt, and I normally make queen size.


--Lia

In article
m,
Martha wrote:

I've just made a try-piece with Warm and Natural cotton batting and
washed it. I get a nice crinkly effect.

But what if I don't want that effect? Can I prewash the batting and
have it stay whole? I buy off a big roll from my local Joanne's, and
there are no instructions available.

I tried prewashing a polyester batting, and had to throw it away!

TIA!

Martha


I don't know what the washing instructions for Warm and Natural, but I
always prewash the Hobbs 80/20 before I use it. I prefer less crinkling,
too. g For the Hobbs, you just fill the washer with cool water and let
the batt soak for about 10 minutes. Gently spin the water out and then
dry in the dryer with no heat. Works like a charm. Perhaps the same
instructions would work on the W&N?
--
Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas
my ISP is earthlink.net -- put sfoster1(at) in front
http://home.earthlink.net/~sfoster1

AKA Dame Sandy, Minister of Education

I found my instructions for pre washing W & N:

1. Hand Wash with Mild detergent. Do not spin or agitate in washing
machine
2. Soak for 20 minutes then rinse several times
3. Squeeze water out. Rolling in a towel or washable blanket will help
remove excess water
4. Dry in a cool or warm dryer, or lay flat to dry

Ann
http://community.webshots.com/user/mrs_ducky

"Martha" wrote in message
m...
I've just made a try-piece with Warm and Natural cotton batting and
washed it. I get a nice crinkly effect.

But what if I don't want that effect? Can I prewash the batting and
have it stay whole? I buy off a big roll from my local Joanne's, and
there are no instructions available.

I tried prewashing a polyester batting, and had to throw it away!

TIA!

Martha

"Martha" wrote in message
m...
I've just made a try-piece with Warm and Natural cotton batting and
washed it. I get a nice crinkly effect.

But what if I don't want that effect? Can I prewash the batting and
have it stay whole? I buy off a big roll from my local Joanne's, and
there are no instructions available.

I tried prewashing a polyester batting, and had to throw it away!

TIA!

Martha

I don't know about the Warm and Natural but I pre-shrink Hobbs Heirloom
batting. I put it in the washer with hot water and let it sit for about 10
minutes. Leave the lid up so you don't accidentally agitate it and make a
giant cotton ball. Then I turn the machine to spin and spin it out. I toss
it in the dryer on regular heat until it's dry.

Kathy

"Sandy Foster" wrote in message
...

I don't know what the washing instructions for Warm and Natural, but I
always prewash the Hobbs 80/20 before I use it. I prefer less crinkling,
too. g For the Hobbs, you just fill the washer with cool water and let
the batt soak for about 10 minutes. Gently spin the water out and then
dry in the dryer with no heat. Works like a charm. Perhaps the same
instructions would work on the W&N?
--
Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas
my ISP is earthlink.net -- put sfoster1(at) in front
http://home.earthlink.net/~sfoster1

If you don't want any crinkling at all use hot water and a hot dryer to
shrink the batting. That's the way I do it and my quilts stay nice and
smooth but with some nice definition to the quilting.

Kathy

On Sun, 09 Oct 2005 11:44:20 GMT, Martha wrote:

I've just made a try-piece with Warm and Natural cotton batting and
washed it. I get a nice crinkly effect.

But what if I don't want that effect? Can I prewash the batting and
have it stay whole? I buy off a big roll from my local Joanne's, and
there are no instructions available.

I tried prewashing a polyester batting, and had to throw it away!

TIA!

Martha

I have a front-loading machine, so what I do instead is put really
hot water into the bathtub, and lower the batting into it. When it
has been in it about 1/2 hour, I let the water out, then get in and
squish the rest of the water out with my clean feet. Then I
continue pushing water out with hands, etc, until it's light enough to
transfer to a big bucket that I bought years ago and usually use to
move wet laundry. Then I hang it outside to dry in the sun (I don't
have a dryer). It seems to minimize shrinkage...


-- Jo in Scotland