Linda Lasco

And the answer? Yes!

Most of the time.

First, let’s talk about why you would want to prewash. There are two main reasons. Both are particularly important if you are buying your quilting fabrics from somewhere other than a quilt shop or a vendor catering to the needs and interests of quilters. (Who among you would do that?!) You may see fabrics that look just like what they sell in quilt shops in lesser locations, but what you may not know is that those fabrics are often printed on less-than-top-quality “greige” goods (pronounced “gray” goods), the base fabric that takes the pattern and dyes.

How Do You Prepare a Quilt for Quilting?

Last time we met, my discussion of favorite tools morphed into one about preparing a quilt for quilting. We were already about halfway through the pin-basting process. (If you missed that discussion, see my October 3, 2016 blog entry.) The backing was laid out, with the batting on top, and the quilt top of the batting, all the layers smoothed out and secured with 1" safety pins so they won’t shift out of position during the machine quilting.

What now?

The funny thing about writing about your favorite things is that as soon as you finish and get back to your quilting, you suddenly realize that you left out some of the best ones.

I confess, this is not my favorite part of the quiltmaking process. As primarily a free-motion-by-machine quilter, I find there are rarely times when I need to mark a quilt top before I start quilting. (As a matter of fact, I make SURE those times are rare.)

I get lots of questions about various aspects of machine quilting. Here are my answers to some of them.