Now that we've had our first real frost here, and the trees are dropping flurries of golden and red leaves, it is time to bring up a very serious topic… FLANNEL!
Do you live in Flannel Country? Do you measure your winter snowfall in feet, not inches? Do you measure the value of a quilt, by how warm it keeps you on brutally frigid nights? Do you scoff at pretty little floral lap quilts? Have you made a quilt with such thick batting that it had to be tied, not quilted?
There are some parts of the country that consume prodigious amounts of flannel. Utah is one of those states that I hear has an insatiable appetite for fuzzy fabrics. Brushed cotton is nice, but if you are a serious flannel connoisseur, you can't wait to breathlessly stroke a new shipment of high quality flannels that feel like butter.
We know how you feel.
I also know that once you've skimmed off the cream in your local quilt shop's flannel department, there might be a few more things you need to make the next great flannel quilt.
Type in "Flannel" in the eQuilter search box and currently we have over 700 flannel products. Can you imagine how much space this takes up in our warehouse? A new full bolt of flannel takes up as much room as 3 bolts of cotton poplin. You can just imagine our staff carrying these big fat fuzzy bolts of flannel to the cutting tables!
This time of year we are in Flannel Heaven.
Baby flannels, solid flannels in pastels and earthtones, plaid yarn-dyed flannels, Christmas flannels, blender flannels, dot and stripe flannels…the list goes on.
There are, of course, many different qualities of flannel. The less expensive flannels will usually be thinner. The more expensive flannels are mostly thicker and softer, with higher quality printing and more saturated colors.
Pre-washing flannel is a real hassle, because it is a looser weave, and the edges can fray in big annoying thready knots. Some people stitch along the edges before pre-washing to stop the fraying. Flannel can shrink but if you make a quilt with unwashed flannel, it will shrink some and create nice texture after its first washing.
You don't have to make a quilt with flannel only. My favorite quilt (which I just pulled out and put on our bed) is a mixture of blender (tonal) flannels, hand-dyed cottons from Bali, and cotton sateen. The mix of of textures both visual and sensual makes for an interesting quilt. I started with a packet of hand-dye and batik strips, and added the flannel and sateen. Scrumptious!
A lot of quilters have been mixing flannel with Minkee and Plush. This way you get a super-luxe dreamy soft quilt top. You can also use plush for the backing of a pieced flannel quilt top. Really the possibilities are endless! Don't ask if it is ok to mix these fabrics – just go ahead and play around with some sample scraps and figure out what kind of machine settings you need to sew together these playful cuddly fabrics! For a country look, you can mix lightweight denim or chambray, with plaid flannels and floral prints. Think John Denver's "Country Road".
This weekend Sophie and I went to Sunflower Farm, and went on the horse-drawn hayride with the mountain peaks as a backdrop. I remember as a girl, going on an evening hayride gripping mugs of hot cider, snuggling under quilts and looking up at the big starry sky.
What's your favorite Autumn quilt memory?
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