Shrinking flannel

Oh my, Michelle, that robe sounds so gorgeous. We'll want to see it when you're done - or even in progress. What a great idea, especially for bitter cold mornings. Meanwhile. Back to the shrinking flannel. I'm afraid there's no 'one size fits all' formula for being sure it's not going to continue to shrink. No magic. None. I think you better conduct your own test. Cut a square of about 13". Stay-stitch inside the edges about 1" so you have a fixed (?) 12" piece. Run it through the laundry and measure. Again? maybe again? until your measurement doesn't change. Once or twice might do it. I can see why you wouldn't want your lining to shrink as a base for crazy quilt piecing. Not even sure it will work . . . but I do love the idea. Please do report back. Polly

When you do as Polly suggested, be sure to wash the flannel in hot, Hot, HOT water to make sure it shrinks as much as possible each time. Then, once you have the robe finished, wash it in cool or cold water. With a crazy quilt design, you might want to do that anyway if you use lots of different fabrics. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

Probably doesn't need to be said, but I will say it anyway. Machine dry after each washing.

I don't usually have time for testing, so three wash/dry cycles work for me. I do not use hot water in the wash because I work with bright colors. Warm works for me. The dryer does plenty of heating.

anthony in Clearwater

Michelle C wrote:

That's a great idea, Polly! Surely at some point, the shrinking has got to stop. I think the flannel would be so soft, but I might be smarter to use a different base fabric. We'll see

I got the idea from a robe I saw as a teenager. My great grandmother had made it. It was nice and heavy. Better feeling than any robe I've ever had. I'm just in the planning stages now, but I WILL keep you posted.