Why I Don't Use Cotton Polyester Fabrics for Quilting - Except For When I Do
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- Опубликовано: 30 июл 2024
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0:00 - Intro
0:46 - Get Shirts
1:10 - Break Down Shirts
2:15 - Don't Precut Fabrics
3:28 - Prep Shirt Fabric
6:43 - Fold Your Fabric
10:58 - Choose a Pattern
12:30 - Fat Quarters from Shirts
15:40 - Choose Fabrics
23:04 - Cut Fabric for Pattern
27:01 - Adapting Quilt Patterns
31:57 - Putting it All Together 
Хобби
Love the captions as always. Also appreciate not being told ‘no’- instead you say ‘here are the issues; choose your battles’
Thank you, my friend. And you know my heart in this so your comment is especially meaningful. 😘
You gave a new meaning to the value of being “full of hot air”. Such a sense of humor makes all your videos so entertaining and memorable. Thank you for the latest edition to your quilting tutorial archives.
Thanks, poppies! And ain't that the truth!!
At the op shop today I fingered an intriguing seafoam green sheet, just to see the tag say "cotton/poly". And I swear, I heard your voice say in your southern way, "Nope!"
Oh my goodness! 😂 But what a great compliment! 🥰❤️
Oh my goodness…I’m drinking my morning coffee and smiling. You are a ray of sunshine and smiles on this cloudy day!
Thank you, Sissie! And you can attest that I laugh like this in person, too! 😘
Thank you for useful information - delivered with a little humor!
Thank you! My little bit of humor always includes a whole lot of me laughing! 😂
Oh my goodness, Cathy! You had me laughing out loud. Good thing my family is still in bed. Except my husband, but he knows how crazy I am. 🤣 Excellent video, even without an aahrn.😁❤
LOL! I'm so glad, Robin...and I can just imagine you laughing along with me! ❤️
Celebrate with me! I went to the thrift store today hoping for some Christmas fabric and found a very festive new-with-tags green shirt with a price tag in today's half-price color in size XXL TALL !! 🎉
HUZZAH!! I'm here for it and excited (and a little envious) for your great find! XXL TALL!! My very favorite! 🤩😍🙌🏻
Cathy thank you. Your videos always make me smile.
Thank you, Katherine.🥰 My work here is done! 😉
Weirdos unite!!!! Thank you for being authentically you. Learning AND laughing is the very best way to spend time on RUclips ❤
Thank you, Amy! ❤️ We weirdos have to stick together!!😂
I’ve been desperate for a way to sort “gifted” fabrics to find the cottons. This is absolutely genius! I can’t thank you enough.
Hi Mary, you can test your fabric content with a burn test. Cut a small piece about 3” by 1/2” then burn the end and drop into a dish of water. If there’s any polyester in it you will feel the hard plastic in the burnt part.
Ruth I see we do the same thing to test unknowns!
Your definitions crack me up. Just know - I'm Southern and understand you perfectly!
You would fit nicely in Pittsburgh PA too. A lot of us say aahrn (iron) the same way! Love your videos.
Thank you! And yes, my goodness, for us Southerners, my speech is just clear as day! 😘
We lived in Butler for a few years and loved it in PA! I've said for many years that I wouldn't mind living in Pittsburgh if we ever moved elsewhere! And thank you!! ❤️
@@TheCatBirdQuilts I grew up in Saxonburg south of Butler. What a coincidence! Thank you for all your videos. I love watching you!
@@susyk6839 I remember Saxonburg! Isn’t that a coincidence and so fun! Thanks for watching and commenting and supporting me and the channel! ❤️🥰
Now, I'm back to my stash of shirts to see exactly what I have. Fabulous video, I am now well informed about the challenges and solutions. You should write book, really!
Thank you so much, Cathy! Why have I never heard these things or ideas before? I am about 3/4 century old and I feel like I just had a graduate class in quilting with poly cotton blends! It makes so much sense!!
Sherry, what a wonderful compliment! I'm so glad it made sense to you!
Love your sense of humor!! And the southern accent! Thanks for thie information! I was wondering why we should steer away from cotton/poly.
Oh Stacy, thank you!! And I'm so glad you got your answer! ❤️🥰
Love the accent. And thank you for this valuable info. I use recycled poly cotton blend in constructing dresses. Good to know the difference.
Thank you! ❤️ And what you do sounds so cool! I hope it continues to be useful video for you!!
Linen.....building my stash but not ready for it yet. Xl ladies pants are a fabulous source of linen. Thanks for the video. Have a couple poly blend that are worth it for the color. Ohhhhh love the design board sunshine.
Thank you, Georgia! I keep meaning to save up enough linen to do an all-linen quilt but then I can't stand it and use it here and there! 😱🤦🏻♀️😍 And thank you! Working on something all-new that I've basically designed myself. 😳🥰🤓
Thank you for this! I’m one of those people who needs to hear the why behind things, so this was perfect! I love your channel and I have learned so much! ❤
Oh yay! Thank you, Tara! ❤️
Very informative and this will definitely help in selecting fabrics for future projects. 🤗🧵🪡✂️
Hooray! Glad it will be helpful for your thrift shopping! ❤️
Thank you so much for this video, it answered my question about cotton/poly shirts. I love your videos thank you for sharing. Have a great week.
Thank you, Lucila! I hope you have a lovely week too! 🥰
So very helpful, thanks.
Reward yourself with a new AAHRN.
Cheshire, I fixed it!! I put some vinegar in it which cleared out the calcium and mineral deposits (and other gross junk) and now it seems to be in working order again! ❤️
You're welcome...glad it was helpful! and thanks again for the comment and support! 🥰
Great video Cathy. I’m wondering why I bother with an iron … I think I’ll just breathe on all my washing in future! 😂 x
Bwahahaha! 😂😂😂I’m dying!!
😂
I would run out of breath 🙃🖐🙄
@@AnitaSouthall lol!! 😂😂😂
Love, love, love the quilt on the design board. Please keep us updated on this quilt. I might have to add this one to the "to do list".
Thank you, Nicole!! ❤️🥰I’ve been thinking about and planning this one for some time now! I’m excited about it! 🤩
Absolutely agree! I think cotton (and linen) just FEEL better to the touch. I have some cotton/poly shirts but they are separated from my cotton. But I also like the notion that the quilt will fade in color over time and be softer. I don't like the idea of all the fabrics in landfills, at least the cotton will degrade, poly-cotton doesn't and that is not great.
Thank you, Freddie! And I think so too---the FEEL. It's all in the feel.❤️
The best comment, was "know how to compensate."
Thanks, Amy! ❤️
Great explanation!. Thanks for all your knowledge. Love your videos. Started to buy shirts, found a beautiful one,took it apart, XXL and long. The fabric is so lovely I am thinking about making a blouse for myself. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR IDEAS.
Thank you, Laura! ❤️🥰 So glad that you're loving the videos and finding inspiration here!
Thanks Cathy! You are a joy! I am making a memory quilt that has some cotton poly mix fabric. I have found if I sew it to a piece of quilting cotton it goes well. If not, it’s crooked. I will work ok my pinning game and hope for the best. Thank you for the explanation for the agony I have been in. Lol.
Thank you so much, Debra! ❤️🥰 It's hard to describe, working with cotton-poly but as soon as I talk to someone who has struggled with it too, it is like, "YES! Ok it's not just me!!"
Thankyou for making it so clear!! Love your channel!!
Thank you, Pamela!! ❤️
My advice on buying an iron - get one with the highest BTU's British Thermal Unit.
Noted! Thanks for the suggestion!🤓👍🏻
Got a new AARHN this year, and learnt a lot about falling back in love with ironing all sorts of fabric. Definitely cotton does not scorch like blended choices.
Lol, Anita! Once I started quilting, I AAHRN more than I could have ever imagined! (and I secretly love it.) ❤️
Thank you for another great video! It's been really useful to have been shown the comparison between using cotton and cotton/polyester. I bought two quilt covers from a market and the packaging/name implied linen, but when I got them home they were cotton/poly mix (note to self: wear glasses when shopping 😂) I put them away as I always use cotton, but maybe they'll find their way into a quilt sometime.
I’m glad the comparison of the two fabrics was helpful to you, Linda! 🥰Sometimes the differences are subtle but it still has an impact on how it sews/presses! It’s always a bummer when you think you’ve found linen and it’s something else!! 😳😱
Thanks for a more detailed discussion on the poly blend. I haven’t ventured out of cotton yet, but it’s great to know what to expect.
It really helps to know what you're working with...nothing worse than having fabric go all wonky and not have any idea why or how to course correct! 🤓
Love that cranberry color you’re wearing! It’s very flattering and a perfect choice for your lovely “quilt in progress” backdrop. ❤️
The video’s content is valuable information for new quilters. Many of us learned the hard way and would have appreciated this information. And thank you for making me smile the entire time I’m viewing your videos. Your southern pronunciations are adorable. Aahrn was precious! ❤️
Thank you Shannon for all these kind words! 🥰❤️
Thank you for this video! I’m one of the ones that kept asking what the issue was with cotton/poly blends. Now I know!
You’re welcome, Kathleen! ❤️
You crack me up!!! Love the quilt on the design wall. Can’t wait to see what’s next!
I crack myself up! I guess it's good I crack other people up too! 😂🥰 Thank you about the quilt on the design wall...I'm SUPER excited about it! I think you are gonna love it as I add more to it! ❤️
@@TheCatBirdQuilts It will be great with or without more blocks. A lot of modern quilts have a lot of negative space, I like some and I don’t like some, depends on what I am going for. Either way what ever you do, will be pretty darn fabulous.
@@TheQuiltingLunchLady you are too sweet! ❤️ thanks for the encouragement and the vote of confidence! 🥰
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Apache! ❤️
Thank you
Thanks, Cynthia!
Absolutely love the quilt on your design wall 🥰 Hope we get to see it finished 🤞 👏👏🇬🇧
Glynis, my husband is trying to talk me into doing a video on my works-in-progress, so you might get to see a lot of it--even BEFORE it gets finished! 🥰❤️🤓
Oh and thank you so much! 😘
@@TheCatBirdQuilts got my fingers crossed 🤞🤞🤞👍🇬🇧
Yes please I would love to know more about the quilt on the design wall also!
Thank you your common sense comments. I understand about the need to use polycotton if the fabric is a must have. :) That's how I say it - but definitely "look for" 100% cotton - but will use the poly cotton - esp. if gifted to me. I totally understand about the puckering and the lack of look of a flat top. The only thing that actually "saves me" in these situations is that after it is quilted and washed, most of those issues will never be noticeable because of the shrinkage of the batting in the finished quilt.
Becky, I agree totally---the quilting and the washing make differences in fabric (and mistakes! lol) virtually disappear! Ultimately that's why I still use cotton-poly from time-to-time--it may require some adjustments when cutting and sewing and quilting, but in the end it's still a beautiful quilt! ❤️
So glad I came across your channel.
This video is a must see for all sewers.
I was given some poly-cotton from a quilter, and didn't really understand the negative properties of it, when in a quilt.
You explained it simply and thoroughly.
Thank you.
Thank you, Karen! ❤️
I unknowingly used just a little cotton/poly in a quilt with small pieces. I pressed and steamed the dog 🐶:) out of those and they puckered. Luckily, the pieces were so small it's not noticeable when quilted.
If you aquire a shirt without a legible label, you can do the burn test to see what it's made of. I recently bought a lovely lavender! gingham! shirt with the tag shredded. Fortunately it tested cotton.
Just one more thing. Did you ever see those double knit quilts from the 70's? Talk about not holding a crease!
Janet, it will get you EVERY time! (and thank God for quilting!) My friend/soulmate/quilty mentor, Jennifer, taught me that burn test and I was blown away. SO HELPFUL. Ok---LAVENDER!! GINGHAM!! Let's just pause and appreciate these two words together. Oh my. 🥰😍🤩 And my word, yes I definitely have seen the double knit quilts...my Nannie made some crazy quilts (and crazy quilt coats!) out of them. Whew! That was some crazy stuff...and yes that was the very definition of not holding a crease! 😂🤓
Very informative. Thank you!
Thank you, Yvette! ❤️
Cathy, I just found an XXL 100% cotton men’s Michelson’s London brand shirt that is like the Denim & Flowers brand shirts. It is wonderful - a blue and white small plaid shirt with a collar band of a beautiful shade of purple w/tiny white and dark purple polka dots and a white yoke lining of very tiny blue, navy and purple dots. Wish I could send you a photo. I have found a couple of Denim & Flower shirts and love them and now the Michelsons London will be on my radar when thrifting. 😊
That sounds AMAZING! If you’re on Instagram or FB, message me with a photo!! 🤩😍❤️🥰
I was sitting under one of Mom-Mom’s scrap quilts a couple days ago and noticed a piece of double knit in it. Imagine! The quilt is 1x3 pieces hand pieced and hand quilted.
When double knit was popular (50 to 60 years ago), my grandmother made a quilt from double knit scraps. That was an extremely warm quilt.
Mom-Mom’s warm quilts were made from wool suiting samples from the local men’s store and backed with heavy flannel. We slept under those in the 70s when we had unheated bedrooms.
😱 My word!
and by "extremely warm" you mean "sweat blanket!" 😉😂🤩
Same for me (wool suiting with flannel backing) from my Nannie's quilts. Itchy as all get-out but SUPER warm! ❤️
Thanks Cathy...no more shame!! Lol
No shame in this game! LOL! And you/re welcome, Giselle! Always glad to give others--and myself--permission! ❤️
I do my own eye rolls when I think about the “plastic” feel of the 1970s polyester fabric. I remember one particular huge store in Chattanooga that was filled with tables of bolts of 100% polyester fabric. That was the only type fabric in the store. Walking into the store made my eyes burn, literally. But, yes, I made and wore clothes from that polyester. 🙄🤭 Thankfully, that era passed. And I also remember the horrible polyester quilts - what were they thinking? 🤓 I saw one of those polyester quilts not long ago at a small quilt show. I had forgotten about them. I get tempted in thrift stores when I find a beautiful colored shirt, but have learned to pass them up when I see the poly/cotton tag - just not worth the extra effort to me to make the fabric behave.
Yes to all this!! ❤️
First I must confess that I’ve never made a quilt, but I have made wall hangings. That being said, I believe I’ll be steering clear of cotton poly shirts and yardage because piecing and quilting is already hard enough for me, so I figure it would be best not to throw in some stubborn fabric that may push one’s patience over the top…..😵. So, thank you for illuminating the issues so well. 😉 As for your iron, do you have any particular brand you tend to stick with?
Thanks for your video…….❤️Brenda
Thanks, Brenda and yes, I think it’s smart to steer clear! As for my iron, it’s a CHI and I love it--and after the video I brought it back to life by running some vinegar in it to clear out any calcium or other mineral deposits! 🤓 Whew! A girl can’t quilt without a good iron! 🥰❤️
This was so helpful in understanding how Cotton/Poly acts differently from Cotton. Wondering if there is a certain-ish amount of poly that a shirt has to have to exhibit these characteristics. For example, I’ve seen some shirts that are 97% cotton and 3% poly and I wondered if that was even enough poly in a shirt to have to worry too much about. Thoughts?
Thank you, Ginger! ❤️🥰 I definitely think that the lower the polyester count, the less it behaves like polyester and the more it behaves like cotton. Not sure about fading/color aging but I suspect they sew up and press much more like cotton if they have a low poly count. If you try it and find that those opinions hold, come back and comment again so I can incorporate that info into future videos! 🤓🤩 (I will do the same) Thanks for the comment and great question! 😊👍🏻
I passed up a few cotton/poly shirts the other day while thrifting. I dislike the slipperiness of the poly. I have a hard enough time making an accurate scant 1/4 seam, and have found that it makes me more apt to have inaccurate seams. There sure are some pretty ones out there that make it very tempting though. Thanks you for making quilting content. I’ve said it before but you truly are a breath of fresh air.
Thank you, Veronica!! With this video I proved I'm a breath of SOMEthing, that's for sure! 😂 I don't like the slippery either and have to talk myself out of buying cotton-poly shirts; if I go in thinking, "Well maybe..." then I'll buy one and then end up having to work harder to make it work than I want. Thank YOU for watching and commenting and supporting me and my videos! ❤️
Lately, I’ve been wondering if cotton/poly would be good to use for the binding, as it’s a bit more robust. What do you think?
Thanks for your content, it’s delightful!
You’re welcome and thank you for watching! 🥰 I probably wouldn’t use it for binding for the same reasons that it can be challenging in piecing-especially if you machine sew to the front and then hand-bind on the back. I think it would be constantly pulling away as you’re trying to stitch it down, and I wonder if it would bubble up around the edges instead of lying flat against the edge of the quilt. I haven’t tried it, so I don’t exactly know! 🤷🏻♀️ You could always just try it on mini quilt or wall-hanging and see! 🤓
@@TheCatBirdQuilts In the late 1980's, I made a queen-sized Lone Star quilt for my eldest daughter. She chose the pattern and the colors. It is machine-pieced, and I hand-quilted it. Back then, there were quite a few fabric stores, but 100% cotton was difficult to find. The Lone Star quilt top is all poly-cotton, with bright solid colors (turquoise, purple, red, etc.), outlined in black, with a lemon yellow background, and the back and binding are also yellow poly-cotton. The quilt has been used a lot over the past 30+ years. It has held up amazingly well, and the colors are still vibrant. If I were making it today, I would use quilting cotton -- and probably have it long-arm quilted.
@@sharonschier8620 How wonderful that it has held up after all these years! I bet it is still beautiful! 🤩😊🤩
Thanks for this. I just picked up four mixed blend shirts and am anxious to see how they do. BTW, you look fantastic in that turtleneck! P.S.: I also crack myself up 😃.
Your iron is fried? Ugh! Have you seen people use flat irons to iron the seams? I saw someone keeps a flat iron by the sewing machine because it's handy and the seams are even flatter than a regular iron. I have an old flat iron I'm going to try. I think it would be great to iron the seams at machine.
Thank you, Lilybee--what a sweet compliment! ❤️🥰
After the video, I ran some vinegar through my iron to see if maybe it was calcium deposits junking up the ironing plate…it came back to life once it did that! Crisis averted! 😂🤓🤩I have not heard of using a flat iron, but it makes sense! And so much smaller and easier than a regular iron!
What is a flat iron! I’m imagining the old fashioned thing that heated up in a wood burning stove!
@@kathleenswan4184 it’s like a curling iron for your hair-except instead of curling it, it flattens it! 👍🏻
You are totally my people 😂 I, too, am not shy to follow my inclinations and laugh at myself alot ( 5:46 human steam aaahrn!) I hope you have laughed alot today 💕Thank you for putting your wonderful ideas and inspirations out here🧵🪡👔
Thank you, Linda!❤️ I'm always happy to find other crazies like me!😂
And of course THE PURPLE SHIRT is an example! 😂
Right?! It WILL NEVER END. 😂
Not sure if it is true but I heard it said that polyester shed micro plastic for ever 👀 into your environment and wash water. 💦. I just started collecting shirts after I found your channel. Some at goodwill were spandex/cotton. 😮
Have you found any issues with the 100% cotton wrinkle free shirts ? I’m seeing more and more of those at the thrift stores. Many feel like polyester.
They DO! [feel like polyester] I wash my shirts with a generous amount of vinegar when I get them home from the thrift store and I think the vinegar my strip some of whatever chemical is on them that makes them "wrinkle free." I really haven't had any issues with that, specifically! Sometimes those same shirts have a herringbone weave and I find them to be extremely stretchy/crawly so I pin the heck out of them when I use them! 🤓👍🏻
Do you soak the shirts in vinegar before washing or just add it with detergent during the regular wash cycle ?
@@dparkman491 I add a generous amount of vinegar at the start of the wash and use the “soak” function on my washer for at least 30 min. More if they are stained or very smelly. Then I just let the washer run normally. 👍🏻
I am thinking that any lovely cotton poly that calls to be will wind up in a yoyo topper that refuses to leave my brain. I don't see that mixing textiles would be a concern, as long as weights stayed relatively consistent so as to not have a weak character who will wear out first.
Thrifting in my area is not cheap- shirts are $9-$15 dollars. Opening up to a bit of poly expands my horizons, so I'm more likely to find what I need. Of course, The Bins run $1.59/lb.....
Any tips for when the shirt does not say whether it is cotton poly or cotton on the label?
If you take a small snipping of the fabric to the kitchen sink and light it with a match/lighter and let it burn a bit, you can read the content…. the natural fibers will burn to ash. The polyester will melt and leave behind a hard ‘plastic-y’ feeling bit which will vary with the amount of poly. Don’t remember where I learned this but it has never failed me in identifying unmarked shirt fabric or yardage
@@jennjennedington279 don't think the thrift stores would like you trying this method much. You could try scrunching the fabric up in a ball and seeing if it wants to return to its original state. I have avoided clothes that crease to much to avoid using the ahem AARHN
Anita...LOL AAHRN! Ok, so I think I can speak for Jennifer and say the burn test is only for at home once you BUY the shirt. 🤓👍🏻 And @JennJenn Edington--I'm glad you taught me this trick! 😍
Thanks for the great question...looks like my awesome viewership has answered this most excellently! Sometimes if the shirt has a sheen or feels slicky or slippery, that's an indication it isn't 100% cotton. Not always, but it helps!
You so silly! I agree with you about polyester, but more for philosophical rather than practical reasons. Plastic manufacturers have sold us a bill of goods. Just recently I have tried to cut down on the plastic in my life including in clothing. In 2 million years everything will still be drowning in plastic. I am old enough to remember life before plastic -what a big change. One of my Saturday chores when I was 9 was to iron my cotton blouses for the week. I like your tip about starching your polycotton.
Thank you, Beth and yes, I AM so silly! Makes life with me fun though!! 😂🥰 I can't let myself think too much about what plastic is doing to our world or I'll get really irritable and down. So I do just try and recycle the good stuff (linen! Cotton!) when I can! ❤️
a new way to steam press a fabric when the aahrn runs dry! LOL
Right?!? 😂 Ridiculous and funny!
Don't worry, I was also laughing because I can relate! I would absolutely try breathing on a crease, and the number of times I open my mouth and my aunts come out is getting silly.
Side note: The other day I told my partner I "mashed the dog outta" something and he was COMPLETELY BAFFLED. Said he'd never heard it. Um? Sir, YOU ARE IN ARKANSAS. I can't believe I'm the first to say this to him--in the South! I should make him watch this video. 😂😇 It's not just me!
Steff, glad to know I'm not the only one who would try to steam iron something with my mouth. 😂 And um...no! I am with you with the Arkansas/dog outta/South thing! Where has this man been all his life?!! He needs to watch my videos. Period.
😂🤓🥰
Natural fibers are like dogs. They do as you wish; synthetics are like cats; they do as they wish, and you just have to deal with it. 😅
Lol! 😂 Ain’t that the TRUTH?!
I recently moved to Mexico, and to my dismay none of the fabric stores, even the big ones, have any cotton whatsoever. Everything is polyester! Not even blends. I'm at a loss for what to use to make quilts.
Oh my goodness, Diana! That is awful!