Unwashed top but washed backing?

My top is almost finished and I've used precuts and unwashed yardage only. The batting is also unwashed. The backing I was thinking of making from used sheets (pink!) I bought from a thrift store which are soft and a really nice quality. Will I have loads of problems since the backing will be washed and the top and batting won't be and end up with a wonky quilt? Should I try and pre-shrink the top before quilting?

Help :)

31 views and no replies, I guess this was a hard one! :D

I agree this is a hard one, I came to look cause I thought someone else had replied already about it! I have wondered that as well. Sorry about not being helpful with this either :( My first honest thought is that I would be hesitant to wash a pieced quilt top. Maybe get a spray bottle filled with water, get it damp and put it in the dryer and it might pre-shrink it a bit?

I don't have a drier... I was thinking soak it in warm water (with some colour catchers) but I'd rather not. I'm a bit scared to just chance it though.

Oh I understand, I think I might wait to see if someone else who is much more experienced replies too! I totally understand your hesitancy as well. Good luck!! :)

When I get to it, I am going to have the same problem. My Day and Night quilt top only had the small amount of red prewashed, and the all red backing has been washed several times with color catchers. I wasn't going to worry about it, but I would be interested in knowing if it where a problem before I did quilt it. I know flannel shrinks a lot, but I didn't think cotton did as much. I would just go for it.

Sorry...I didn't want to view and leave but I'm interested in hearing responses as I am considering this option also!

Looks like just newbies were awake this morning.

I would sandwich and quilt the quilt without washing the top and batting and not worry about it. I've done this before and had no problems at all. A lot of the shrinkage issues that people are concerned about are with much older fabrics. The fabrics of today are less likely to warp and give you issues (except flannel, it still shrinks a lot.)

No worries...i see it this way.... the fabric on the back is going to go along with the fabric on the top no matter what.... if you think about it... there should not be a big issuel..

Since the backing is older sheets I am assuming that they have been washed and all the shrinking is done already. I would go ahead and finish it unwashed and then wash it with the color catchers.

Good luck!

I agree, don't think you will have much of an issue, I would proceed as normal.....want pics when you are done...please!!! with sugar on top and maybe a cherry!

I really don't think you will have that big of a problem. That being said, I'd still say a little prayer over it before I wash the whole quilt!

Can't see a problem with this. It will be just fine. Wash it after you finish it.

Thanks all! Just what I wanted to hear. :D I soooo was not looking forward to washing the unfinished parts hehe.

Now I need to practise quilting more before trying it on a real quilt! I've only don'e SITD so farn and I've of a mind to try something else on this one.

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Sorry to look but not answer...It's just that I've always pre-wash my fabric and never use sheets for backing...I was told back in the day when I started quilting that sheets are too dense a weave for quilting so I never tried it. A longarm quilter and friend won't quilt any sheet backed quilts because it's too hard on her needles. So anyway sorry to have not put an answer. Whatever you decide, it should be fine.

Oh well this will be interesting then! I backed my first quilt (Christmas tree rug) with a sheet of poor quality and it went fine. This ebtter sheet might be denser though.

I was actually wondering the same thing. For me it is a lot cheaper to use a sheet than fabric. I thought about using a sheet after I paid my local quilt shop almost $120.00 for white on white backing fabric. Its just crazy that the backing cost more than the front of the quilt. A friend also told me she picks up old blankets from a thrift store to use as batting................

I have zero to contribute, but am greatly relieved to read what the more experienced among us are saying!

I see that by now you have had some good advice and you should just continue finishing the quilt and wash when totally finished. You would be asking for a huge mess and big trouble to wash an unfinished quilt top. You would get unnecessary stress on all of your seams and you could also get fraying of the edges including your seam allowances. Think about when you pre wash fabrics without zigzagging the edges. There is often fraying of those edges. This would spell disaster for your 1/4" seam allowance. This isn't an issue in a finished built because the seam allowances are protected by the batting and the quilting.

Good point!! Thank you. :)

And I do love them thrift stores! 120 USD for backing is just mad.

Firstly, old quilts that have had wear and numerous washings are usually fine to use as backings. The problem with sheets is their high, close thread count compared to crafting cottons. If you want to purchase sheets specifically for backs, buy cheaper ones that you can see light thru the weave and prewash them.

Never wash a completed top. As Auntpigly said, you'd end up with a thready mess, and it would be near impossible to press it out neatly without distortion.

I design and sew with precuts everyday. Quality cotton has minimal shrinkage and so I'm not a prewasher anyway (except flannel). If your top is unwashed and your backing is washed, worst that will happen is the back will end up SLIGHTLY wrinkly, not the front. Remember, same thing happens if both front and back are unwashed and shrink at different rates. And for those who prewash, it sometimes happens that one fabric continues to shrink thru another few washes. Yes, I've seen it affect prewashers also. I guess we all have to remember we're working with woven fabric, not wood.

As for thrift shop goodies, go for it. I've used blankets as batting for years and love em!! Don't forget tho it's often heavier and thicker than batting, which will pose its own issues during quilting, especially on a domestic machine with a smaller throat space.

Also, may I mention pressing? If you press with a little steam throughout the construction of your blocks, you've preshrunk your fabric anyway. Not huge amounts of steam, that's the quickest way to set creases and distortions permanently.

Anyway, hope this helps, it's a learning curve for sure!!

Cheers, Pami