I'm excited to show you these beautiful cotton/linen blend fabrics -- Moda's new CxL (cotton and linen) substrate, which is a 55% cotton/45% linen blend!
These 20 fabrics feature beautiful color and texture and look beautiful alongside my new Toast & Jam print collection. Scroll down for a closer look at the colors and for my tips on using this substrate.
I've listed below my tips for quilting with CxL and other specialty wovens, like Popcorn Wovens.
- I don't recommend prewashing fabric for patchwork quilts. Patchwork piecing often requires cutting small pieces, which is easier to do when the fabric still has the manufacturer sizing (a stabilized, kind of like starch) in it.
- When I'm patchwork piecing, I use the same stitch length and seam allowances for all fabrics. Fitting your machine with a straight-stitch plate and a new needle, and using some kind of seam guide, can help with accuracy, no mater what fabrics you're using.
- Using a sharp rotary blade will make cutting so much easier! If you find that your blade is snagging on the fabric, or you can't make a clean cut with one pass, it's time to change your blade.
- Squaring up your pieced units is worth the time. You may find (especially if you press with steam) that yarn-dyed wovens and linen blends spread more than standard quilting prints. I combat this by squaring up my pieced units as I work. Regardless of what fabrics you're using, this will help to promote accuracy!
- Protect your work by finishing your quilt with evenly dense quilting. I recommend using an allover quilting design like an edge-to-edge pantograph (or similar free-motion or straight-stitched pattern) that covers the entire quilt top evenly. For detailed patchwork quilts like the ones I make, I prefer to have no more than 1-½" - 2" (usually less) of space between quilting lines. I think of this kind of quilting as being similar to laminating a piece of paper. It stabilizes your quilt top and makes everything sturdier.
- The way a loose piece of fabric washes/shrinks is different than the way it will wash/shrink in a quilt. A well-made quilt top is layered with batting and backing fabric, with all layers secured together with quilting stitches. In my experience, this process stabilizes the quilt top, causing the entire project to shrink at a more-or-less even rate, even if it includes different substrates. Another thing to remember is that most natural fabric batting will shrink more than any of the component fabrics in a quilt.
- Take care when washing your quilt. You results will vary based on the way your quilt was made, what type of batting you used, and even your laundry machines. I find that washing quilts in cool water, using a delicate cycle and detergent works well. The manufacturer does not recommend machine drying CxL, so drying quilts made with this fabric flat is recommended. If you choose to put your quilt in the dryer anyway, use low heat.
