Polyester was a widely used fabric in quilt making in the 1970s, but nobody would use it to make quilts today, right? Wrong! Today at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum there was a woman named Janet in the gallery when I was there taking photos, and we struck up a conversation.
She told me she was part of a Lutheran church group about three hours away in Nebraska, and they made quilts for people in the Caribbean, South America and other moist climates. The charities that receive the quilts request polyester because cotton gets mildew and rots. So, the polyester is ideal for their quilts. I'd never heard that before, but it was nice to hear polyester quilts were not completely a thing of the past.
Long live the durable polyester!
ReplyDeleteI once went to an Amish general store in western PA that sold quilt supplies. All of the fabric was polyester.
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Polyester quilts wear like iron. I have had to take old tattered flannel off the back of a polyester quilt and replace it with new flannel because the polyester top itself is still good as new. Polyester tops just keep going like the energizer bunny. Other 100% cotton quilts of mine have been worn to tatters by my children and have long since bit the dust. So YAY for polyester! I have been collecting polyester pieces from the thrift store to make as many of these quilts for my children as I can.
ReplyDeleteIt is absolutely fascinating and totally surprising to hear that places south of the border prefer polyester quilts! I mean who would have thunk it?
ReplyDeleteI had been given a vintage unquilted top that was a mix of all kinds of fabrics including polyester, pajamas, kitchen curtains, you name it. The sashing seemed to be satin. I added two borders using polyester solids, which had a pretty sheen and seemed to match up with the mix of fabrics in the top. They looked all of a time period! It quilted beautifully on my long-arm. I was left wondering why we don't use poly more often.
ReplyDeleteI have long wondered if polyeter tops could be quilted on a long-arm and now I Know! Thank you so much for sharing this piece of information.
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