Do women know about shrinkage?

Of course you do. It was a bad reference from Seinfeld, but it
works...
Anyhoo, I bought some black quilting cotton last week(?) for my PCQ
foundation [reminder: utility quilt] that was, according to the bolt,
44"/45". Unfortunately I took the bolt at its word. I washed the
fabric in cold water as I'm supposed to, to pre-shrink it. So I
ironed it last night, layed it out to cut the foundation (bought
enough for three tries just in case...) and find it's now only 42"
wide. Now I/we expected shrinkage, but is 3" reasonable or do you
think this stuff was not 44"/45" as represented? It's not going to
kill anything - so I start with a 42" square foundation instead of 44"/
45" - big fat hairy deal... I'm just curious if quilting cotton is
usually prone to shrink that much...

Next step is to hem the two rough edges to prevent fraying while I'm
working on things...

Doc

Doc, I have heard the history of the board but it doesn't come to me just
now - but you know, of course that a 2 by 4 is not 2 or 4 anywhere. Width
of fabric can be just about anything. Probably more than 39", sometimes 60
or so just because.
Clothing, of course, is another matter. All of us know that clothing
left to its own devices just hanging around in a closet can and certainly
will shrink. Just another case of 'never assume anything'. Furthermore,
your yard stick, tape measure, square ruler and lipped ruler will not always
measure the same.
I'm thinking that using 42" (more or less) for your foundations is
rather cumbersome. Might be easier to begin with something about half that
size. Polly



"Dr. Zachary Smith" wrote Of course you do. It was a bad reference from
Seinfeld, but it
works...
Anyhoo, I bought some black quilting cotton last week(?) for my PCQ
foundation [reminder: utility quilt] that was, according to the bolt,
44"/45". Unfortunately I took the bolt at its word. I washed the
fabric in cold water as I'm supposed to, to pre-shrink it. So I
ironed it last night, layed it out to cut the foundation (bought
enough for three tries just in case...) and find it's now only 42"
wide. Now I/we expected shrinkage, but is 3" reasonable or do you
think this stuff was not 44"/45" as represented? It's not going to
kill anything - so I start with a 42" square foundation instead of 44"/
45" - big fat hairy deal... I'm just curious if quilting cotton is
usually prone to shrink that much...

Next step is to hem the two rough edges to prevent fraying while I'm
working on things...

Doc

On Oct 13, 9:18*am, "Dr. Zachary Smith"
wrote:
Of course you do. *It was a bad reference from Seinfeld, but it
works...
Anyhoo, I bought some black quilting cotton last week(?) for my PCQ
foundation [reminder: utility quilt] that was, according to the bolt,
44"/45". *Unfortunately I took the bolt at its word. *I washed the
fabric in cold water as I'm supposed to, to pre-shrink it. *So I
ironed it last night, layed it out to cut the foundation (bought
enough for three tries just in case...) and find it's now only 42"
wide. *Now I/we expected shrinkage, but is 3" reasonable or do you
think this stuff was not 44"/45" as represented? *It's not going to
kill anything - so I start with a 42" square foundation instead of 44"/
45" - big fat hairy deal... *I'm just curious if quilting cotton is
usually prone to shrink that much...

Next step is to hem the two rough edges to prevent fraying while I'm
working on things...

Doc

I'd bet your fabric wasn't 44/45" to begin with. This has been a real
source of irritation for me lately, since I got hooked making baby
quilts.
I'd made a quilt so that regular 44/45" fabric would work for the
backing,
not having to piece it.
Lo and behold. I had the LQS lady measure and my fabric of choice
was only 42" *on the bolt*. Since then I always check.

This trend also really screws up patterns using fat quarters when they
assume a fat quarter will be 22 inches, and it's not!

I don't know the reason for this trend. I imagine it's the same reason
that
cans of vegetables, candy bars, etc.etc. have shrunk. Instead of
raising
the price on that stuff, they shrink it and think we don't notice???

Sherry

My challenge lately has been plain old Rice Krispies. They seem to change
the size of the box at least twice a day. Our cabinet shelves are
adjustable so when they made them taller, I adjusted. The next week, I just
moved cereal storing over to the pantry. Last Tuesday, WalMart had a
display of Rice Krispie boxes that were about the size of our washing
machine. DH muttered "back porch for that one?" and I just wondered who
could possibly manage that sort of 'saving'.
Now, if someone could please tell me how to get the @#$! plastic
wrapping open without going out to the tool shed for some serious help.
Polly

"Sherry" wrote in message
...
On Oct 13, 9:18 am, "Dr. Zachary Smith"
wrote:
Of course you do. It was a bad reference from Seinfeld, but it
works...
Anyhoo, I bought some black quilting cotton last week(?) for my PCQ
foundation [reminder: utility quilt] that was, according to the bolt,
44"/45". Unfortunately I took the bolt at its word. I washed the
fabric in cold water as I'm supposed to, to pre-shrink it. So I
ironed it last night, layed it out to cut the foundation (bought
enough for three tries just in case...) and find it's now only 42"
wide. Now I/we expected shrinkage, but is 3" reasonable or do you
think this stuff was not 44"/45" as represented? It's not going to
kill anything - so I start with a 42" square foundation instead of 44"/
45" - big fat hairy deal... I'm just curious if quilting cotton is
usually prone to shrink that much...

Next step is to hem the two rough edges to prevent fraying while I'm
working on things...

Doc

I'd bet your fabric wasn't 44/45" to begin with. This has been a real
source of irritation for me lately, since I got hooked making baby
quilts.
I'd made a quilt so that regular 44/45" fabric would work for the
backing,
not having to piece it.
Lo and behold. I had the LQS lady measure and my fabric of choice
was only 42" *on the bolt*. Since then I always check.

This trend also really screws up patterns using fat quarters when they
assume a fat quarter will be 22 inches, and it's not!

I don't know the reason for this trend. I imagine it's the same reason
that
cans of vegetables, candy bars, etc.etc. have shrunk. Instead of
raising
the price on that stuff, they shrink it and think we don't notice???

Sherry

On Oct 13, 10:31*am, "Polly Esther" wrote:
Doc, I have heard the history of the board but it doesn't come to me just
now - but you know, of course that a 2 by 4 is not 2 or 4 anywhere. *Width
of fabric can be just about anything. *Probably more than 39", sometimes 60
or so just because.

Correct, a 2 x 4 is 1-1/2 x 3-1/2 wherever you go (in the USA), and
tolerances are within 1/16".
There are standards. I see fabric in bolts labeled 41/42, 44/45, and
I think (but not sure) a few others in the neighborhood. No
standards. I did specifically ask the clerk how wide the fabric was.
She said she thought 41/42, but when we looked and saw 44/45, she said
it should measure out in that range, and I believed her. (In the law,
that's called "superior knowledge" but I'm not trying to make a
federal case out of it.) All I really want to know is if 3" shrinkage
is typical/expected of quilting cotton fabrics in that nominal range
so I'll know how to estimate things in the future (This used to be the
construction manager's purview...)

* * I'm thinking that using 42" (more or less) for your foundations is
rather cumbersome. *Might be easier to begin with something about half that
size. *Polly

Yeah, I'm getting a lot of that. I would have preferred 45". I
should probably publish (here) my project specs.
For constructing the quilt, I'm tentatively using a modified "antique
method" (combining some aspects of other methods) as outlined in
Michler's "Crazy Quilting - The Complete Guide". It was recommended
by someone here; I don't recall exactly who... She (Michler)
describes 10 different ways to patch a CQ, and this one (at *least*)
says, "A foundation can be the size of the entire quilt top, or a
block of any size." As always, if what I'm trying doesn't work out, I
always have a backup plan. OTOH, if it DOES work the way I envision,
it should be just what I want, and I shall endeavor to be insufferably
smug about it. 8^P [JUST KIDDING!!!]

Doc

Hi Sherry,

On Oct 13, 10:47*am, Sherry wrote:
I'd bet your fabric wasn't 44/45" to begin with.

That's my suspicion despite the explicit labeling, and IMO, that's
just not right.

This trend also really screws up patterns using fat quarters when they
assume a fat quarter will be 22 inches, and it's not!

That one I knew about. I'm learning (often the hard way) but it's far
more frustrating than other industies I'm familiar with. I don't
think I'm alone in suspecting some form of sexism/chauvinism at work
here. IMO&E men wouldn't tolerate this kind of shenanigans (though
we've fallen for some doozies...)

I don't know the reason for this trend. I imagine it's the same reason
that
cans of vegetables, candy bars, etc.etc. have shrunk. Instead of
raising
the price on that stuff, they shrink it and think we don't notice???

"Downsizing". I couldn't agree more. Hate it, Hate it, HATE IT!!!
Like you, I would rather pay more and get what I used to get.

Doc

On Oct 13, 11:07*am, "Polly Esther" wrote:
snip
Rice Krispie boxes that were about the size of our washing
machine. *

Wish I could find my cornflakes w/ dried blueberries in that size; I
can only get about 3-1/2 bowls out of a box. :-(

* * Now, if someone could please tell me how to get the @#$! *plastic
wrapping open without going out to the tool shed for some serious help.

FWIW, we keep a couple of boxcutters in the kitchen drawer and a
couple of exacto knives in the pencil jar (a BEA-UTIFUL antique
French's mustard [they originated here] jar I dug out of a jobsite
trench 30+ years ago...)

Doc

I have struggled with the cereal issue as well. I have very limited
space in my kitchen and two small kids. So I went to the dollar store
and bought 8 matching containers. So now cereal all goes in those. They
will fit the small box of cereal completely. The larger boxes I fill the
container and put the rest in the pantry and fill as necessary. 8 Boxes
of cereal on the go sounds like a lot but with 4 of us in the house
everyone has their different likes, and plus it actually saved us space
compared to trying to keep say 2 large boxes and 3 small boxes in there.

I also got some square rubbermaid containers that will hold all the
package stuff. Like Lipton sidekicks, gravy mixes, noodle soup. And
another container for the smaller boxed stuff like Kraft Dinner and
such. It's way easier to find things and nothing is getting knock over
on the floor when I'm trying to get something out of the back of the
shelf. I just pull the container and slide it back in.

This all started cuz I had mice. Now we got rid of the mice but I would
never go back to my old ways. Just food for thought...haha
Joanna

Polly Esther wrote:
My challenge lately has been plain old Rice Krispies. They seem to
change the size of the box at least twice a day. Our cabinet shelves
are adjustable so when they made them taller, I adjusted. The next
week, I just moved cereal storing over to the pantry. Last Tuesday,
WalMart had a display of Rice Krispie boxes that were about the size of
our washing machine. DH muttered "back porch for that one?" and I just
wondered who could possibly manage that sort of 'saving'.
Now, if someone could please tell me how to get the @#$! plastic
wrapping open without going out to the tool shed for some serious help.
Polly

On Oct 13, 11:45*am, Joanna wrote:
snip
This all started cuz I had mice. Now we got rid of the mice but I would
never go back to my old ways. Just food for thought...

Instead of food for the mice? 8^D

Not many bolts actually measure 44-45", IME. Regardless of what it
says. Maybe the loom was that wide, or something. I always assume
"around 40" and buy accordingly, on the few occasions when I buy for a
specific project. Fabric doesn't shrink that much. What DOES happen
when you wash it is relaxation. Grain lines sometimes shift back to
where they were when first woven, sizing washes out, everything goes
softer. You frequently lose a couple of inches on the length, if you
were counting on cutting strips on the crosswise grain, because the
cut they made at the store is no longer at right angles to the
selvedges. Sometimes you just have to choose whether to respect the
lengthwise or the crosswise grain, can't have both!
Roberta in D

On Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:13:18 -0700 (PDT), "Dr. Zachary Smith"
wrote:

On Oct 13, 10:31*am, "Polly Esther" wrote:
Doc, I have heard the history of the board but it doesn't come to me just
now - but you know, of course that a 2 by 4 is not 2 or 4 anywhere. *Width
of fabric can be just about anything. *Probably more than 39", sometimes 60
or so just because.

Correct, a 2 x 4 is 1-1/2 x 3-1/2 wherever you go (in the USA), and
tolerances are within 1/16".
There are standards. I see fabric in bolts labeled 41/42, 44/45, and
I think (but not sure) a few others in the neighborhood. No
standards. I did specifically ask the clerk how wide the fabric was.
She said she thought 41/42, but when we looked and saw 44/45, she said
it should measure out in that range, and I believed her. (In the law,
that's called "superior knowledge" but I'm not trying to make a
federal case out of it.) All I really want to know is if 3" shrinkage
is typical/expected of quilting cotton fabrics in that nominal range
so I'll know how to estimate things in the future (This used to be the
construction manager's purview...)

* * I'm thinking that using 42" (more or less) for your foundations is
rather cumbersome. *Might be easier to begin with something about half that
size. *Polly

Yeah, I'm getting a lot of that. I would have preferred 45". I
should probably publish (here) my project specs.
For constructing the quilt, I'm tentatively using a modified "antique
method" (combining some aspects of other methods) as outlined in
Michler's "Crazy Quilting - The Complete Guide". It was recommended
by someone here; I don't recall exactly who... She (Michler)
describes 10 different ways to patch a CQ, and this one (at *least*)
says, "A foundation can be the size of the entire quilt top, or a
block of any size." As always, if what I'm trying doesn't work out, I
always have a backup plan. OTOH, if it DOES work the way I envision,
it should be just what I want, and I shall endeavor to be insufferably
smug about it. 8^P [JUST KIDDING!!!]

Doc