Must you use 100% Cotton?
Joyce Mitchel
No, you do not have to use or choose 100% cotton when making a quilt. Many quilts down through the generations have been made using other fabrics and even mixing them at times as in the Crazy Quilts and Scrap Quilts. But I would like to give you a few reasons why as a beginner it would be a good thing for you to use 100% cotton. I stress the 100% because there are some blended fabrics out there and as pretty and bright as they may be, they are harder to work with for several reasons. So watch the tag on the bolt and learn to recognize true cotton when you see one. Another thing that you will want to watch is the thread count, the higher the count the better the finished product. You can easily tell if the thread count is low simply by holding the fabric up toward a light. Here are some of the facts about using cotton; you will have less distortion, this will make it easier to square up your blocks and make quilting your quilt a lot easier. Your finished quilt will lie flat and finish square. Cotton holds a press or crease better, so when you press your pieces you will not have the seams wanting to roll up on you. There is better give and take with cotton, meaning that when you are sewing with it you can make minor adjustments without them becoming major pains. It has been found over the years to reduce the batting bearding. This is when the batting tentacles want to stick out through the weave of the fabric. Cotton is easier to hand quilt and more comfortable to work with and to use afterward. Sometimes the blended fabrics will cause irritation to the fingers and hands while quilting. Cotton is a softer fiber so it doesn’t irritate and is more comfortable to sleep under as well.