Quilting Fabric

Quilting fabric has come a long way in the past century. Today’s quilter can choose 100% cotton fabrics in solids and prints to coordinate with any color scheme imaginable. Most fabric stores have an entire wall devoted to quilting fabric. Quilters may even shop online and have quilting fabric conveniently delivered to their homes.

While traditional quilters used whatever fabrics were available, including homespun wools and linsey-woolsey, the modern quilter prefers 100% cotton fabrics. Cotton is washable and easy to sew. By using only 100% cotton fabrics in a project, the quilter can be sure all fabrics will wear evenly and any shrinkage will be uniform throughout the project.

While other fabrics can be used for quilting, all materials in a pieced quilt should be of similar weight and fiber content. If new and old fabrics are mixed, the older fabrics may be pulled apart eventually by the stronger, newer fabric pieces. Vintage fabrics are best used with other older fabrics, or as appliqués sewn over newer fabric. Polyester-cotton blends may also be used for machine piecing and quilting, although synthetics are not as easy to sew by hand. Lightweight wool also makes a good quilting fabric for a special project that will not need frequent cleaning.