Cotton (Fabric)

OK, I know. I failed. I didn’t post every day in April. Well, turns out that right after I made that decision to post every day, work and life got in the way. But I would like to pick up where I left off and continue posting something about quilting or sewing for every letter of the alphabet. The fun part will be that you might not know when I will post so it will be a surprise! 

Disclaimer: The following is completely my opinion about fabrics in general. Please take it with a grain of salt and don’t be afraid to try using other fabrics in your quilting/sewing adventures.

Historically, women used scraps of clothing and even feedsacks to create warm quilts for their families. These women were very resourceful and used every bit of fabric they could find.  Typically, these fabrics were made from cotton because that is what was available at the time. Cotton is durable and warm and easy to find. Fast foward a hundred or so years, the industry of quilting has spread to become a huge market. The advancement of technology has allowed graphic designers and people who normally work with computer images to have their designs transferred to cottons to create a wide variety of cotton fabrics.  New fabric lines emerge for each season and every month there are different colors and patterns available.  A few of the more well known fabric manufacturers are Moda, Michael Miller, RJR, and Free Spirit, among others.  Even more than the names of the manufacturers, the designers names can ring a bell in some fabric-a-holic’s minds. My favorites come from Amy Butler, April Cornell, Anna Maria Horner, Anna Griffin,  Blackbird Designs, oh the list could go on and on.  These designers work with the manufacturers to produce beautifully designed 100% cotton fabrics. Sometimes the designs from the cottons are translated to flannels and even heavier, decorator weight fabrics.  I have found, in my limited experience (about four years) that Moda, one of the largest and most well known companies, usually searches out some of the best designers. I have almost never seen anything from Moda that I haven’t liked.  Not only do they produe yardage of the fabrics, but they have begun marketing pre-cut fabrics so that a quilter can have a sampling of every fabric in a collection. For example, charm packs include 5″X5″ squares, pre-cut, one of every fabric in a collection such as the new line from April Cornell, Nature’s Chorus.  This charm pack has 40 squares but only costs about $8.00 (depending on where you live and purchase from). Not only can I get this great sampling but the number of patterns developed specifically for using charm squares has really expanded once pattern designers saw the need. The same goes for pre-cut strips (2 1/2″ x 42″ strips, one of every fabric in a collection) called a Jelly Roll. I love jelly rolls. I probably have 10 or more at home. I even have some great patterns to go with them, I am just too hesitant to unroll the beautiful fabrics and cut into them. Oh, but I digress from the topic of cotton fabrics.  Recently, with the ec0-friendly boom, there has been an emergence on the market of other fabrics that strive to have the same feel as cottons, bamboo, for example, is a renewable resource that has been turned into some very soft fabric. In fact, if you didn’t know it was bamboo, you’d probably think it was cotton or even silk.  Since these are new to the market, they are a little more per yard than quilting cottons, but I am sure those who buy bamboo fabric would say it is worth it.   Well, I would say that concludes my discussion of cotton fabrics.  I hope this has given you some insight into the world of cottons and that you will do some reseach of your own to find what you like. The best way to do that is to visit your local quilt shop and touch and feel the different fabrics. Believe me, they will call to you. Until next time.

Happy Stitches to You.

Anna