Musings on Stack'n Whack

After spending the better part of a day stackin & whackin, here are some observations I have made:

  1. Don't every try to stack & whack pre-washed fabrics. My bug fabric was fresh off the bolt and whacked wonderfully. I had two yards of a fabric I purchased on e-bay that I thought would make an interesting quilt. It was pre-washed. I followed the instructions and made a guide piece, lined up the guide piece to cut the second piece and...wait...it was like trying to hit a moving target. I finally got them all cut, but they were all slightly different. So, I starched them (should have probably done this to start with). That was a little better. But lining them up was a real pain. The fabric wanted to stick together (because of the starch) and getting the pin to an upright aligned position was very difficult. And, cutting a stack of 8 pieces of starched fabric was a real challenge. I finally succeeded though!

  1. When whackin gives you lemons - make lemonade! The above whacked fabric looked horrible cut for the 15" block - right triangles. I then said to myself..."a half a right triangle is still a right triangle"! So I whacked them in half again. And, that was much better. The kaleidoscopic effect was much more pronounced.

  2. Don't give up on a stack & whack as hopelessly boring until you find a "wow" background and look at it through a reducing glass. The above whacked and whacked again looked really boring until I put them on a deep blue moda marble and looked at it through a reducing glass. Wow, that made a huge difference. I think I'll make them into a wall quilt or a table covering.

  1. Don't ever, and I mean EVER try stack'n whack unless you are prepared to become hopelessly addicted. It's all I could do to stop myself from heading to the local LQS to find more whackable fabric! But...there's always E-Bay.

Mardi Real e-mail address spelled out to prevent spam. mardi at mardiweb dot com. ____________________

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Reply to
M. Wetmore
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not to mention equilter.com and craftconn.com! ROFL

(enabler me!)

The Blessed Fiddy, Patroness Saint of the Disorganized LC in Sunny So Cal Personality Development Specialist (Full-Time Mom!)

Reply to
LC aka Fiddy

Thank you, Mardi. I've been eyeing whacking and appreciated your findings. Well, I _am_ going to ignore the part about addiction. I'm just going to have to take the risk. Polly

Reply to
Polly Esther

I took a class from Bethany Reynolds a couple years ago - she says the same: "NEVER WASH" the fabric - or spray starch it to within an inch of its existance!

I try to take the layering one step further - I baste the layers together.... go down through one well marked point and back up through another close by point... tie the thread. Move about 5-8" away to another well defined mark and do the same. Not only does that hold the layers more securely, you don't run the risk of cutting over pins when you "whack", and the cut parts usually have one of the basting points in it (eliminates the need for pins!)

It is addicting! I love to use smaller prints and make wall hangings - just as long as you have the 6 or 8 repeats you need.

ME-Judy

Reply to
ME-Judy

I have always used pre-washed fabrics for the stack'n'whacks that I have made, and have not found it necessary to starch. I suppose it depends on how firmly woven the fabric is. I have probably just been lucky.

Julia > After spending the better part of a day stackin & whackin, here are

Reply to
Julia in MN

I prewash EVERYTHING in hypoallergenic laundry detergent because of my allergies. Spray starch is my friend.

Kim

Reply to
Kim E

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