Is Minkee really that tough to work with?

I love the feel of Minkee and really want to use it as backing on a couple of baby quilts I am doing for charity.

Cutting the Minkee should be kept to a minimum since I only plan to use it for backing, However, are there fray/fuz or otther problems that Minkee will have after I complete my baby quilts?

Jerry in North Alabama

No. Once you get the cut edges of the minkee inside the quilt, there will be no problem except for a stray mink that you can brush away. Babies love it - it has a soothing, calming effect that is just wonderful. Washes and dries easily. I don't ever know about the shelter quilts that I've made but the pillowcases for our chemo friends have been easy care and a sweet comfort. Polly

"MaleQuilter" wrote, in part > are there fray/fuz or otther problems

Well it stretches - so watch out for that. And the cut edges can tend to roll up on you. But for me, cutting was the worst aspect. I think if I ever wanted to piece it I would be tempted to baste it first, but I can be a bit obsessive about matching rofl.

If you are going to use single pieces to back quilts, have you considered birthing and tying the quilts? It might be easier than trying to quilt through the fuzz.

I think I am the only person here who doesn't like minkee - except in big single pieces. I have stitched around a couple of pieces to make "whole cloth" minkee throws and knee rugs, but I don't use it for baby rugs. Sure it feel "nice", but it is all synthetic, and I prefer to give natural fibre textiles where I can. But my thinking could be influenced by the near 100F temperatures here ATM lol. For a soft snuggly baby quilt I go for flannel, and that is very easy to sew. Lots more colours and prints available too. For a really quick hard wearing baby quilt I use polar fleece instead of batting between flannel - washes and dries in no time.

Hey, MOVE OVER, you are not an exclusive when it comes to Minkee. I 'have to' work with it on ONE quilt but it will be a front (Minkee) and back (sateen) for a special request from a special Mom for her DD. She wants ONE full piece for the front of Minkee and One Piece for the back with NO SEAMS with the MINIMAL of quilting and NO batting. I can't STAND the feel of Minkee, so I will have to wear plain cotton gloves to work with it. For her, I will do it ONCE and that is it.

Butterfly (Butterfly For President)

Ma'am President - I consider myself honoured to be in such company!

I am SO glad to see someone else express this- I thought I was the only one that felt this way- the stuff just gives me the creeps when I touch it!

I've done two Minkee projects.

For the first I just used a solid piece of Minkee for the backing on a pieced cotton. The stuff does feel nice, I think - but it's slippery to work with so I found the backing bunching and shifting even though I'd pinned it to bits. The edges do curl, but that wasn't so huge an issue for me. Cutting and trimming it leaves fuzz everywhere, but you can vacuum. Don't have any other precious fabrics out lying about or they'll get covered in it.

My current project, which is pieced Minkee, solid cotton back, will probably be my last if I don't actualy stuff it in a shredder in frustration. It's the most trouble I've EVER had free-motioning on my Janome, including my very first attempts, and the walking foot isn't much better. The baby this quilt is for is over 6 months now and I'm scared to finish it. I've changed needles, threads, fiddled with tension to know end, walking foot and free motion - I thought I must have totally lost it when it came to quilting and I really had gotten discouraged - but then I picked up some cotton-backed-cotton sandwiches I had hanging around and they were a breeze. Back to the Minkee-cotton sandwich - ugh. Snapped threads half a dozen times and broke a needle in half an hour.

I'm still open for more advise on this but geez, it's been a hassle to work with.

YMMV, all that -

Johanna

OK I give up.

If all of you experienced quilter had this much trouble, I sure do not want to even try it at this stage of my quilting development.

I sure am happy that I got all of the warnings before I got into a real mess.

Thanks

Jerry in North Alabama

I borrowed a hint from my knitter's days and popped my minkee in the deep freezer for a day before I cut it...helped to control the fuzzies a bit I think. I spray baste, so stretching wasn't such a big issue. The quilt I did was cotton pieced on top, no batting, minkee on the back. It's here:

You know what's good Jerry? Don't ask - then once you start you never know how hard things are supposed to be!