patchwork with Rayon, Voile or Linen?
I’m feeling that itch to use up challenging fabric scraps and have been thinking about sewing a quilt using something other than quilting cotton.
I keep my rayon, jersey, voile and linen scraps in a basket separate from my normal scrap drawers. Why? Because I have found that mixing quilting cotton and other substrates results in a less durable quilt. The stronger fabrics pull against the weaker fabrics, often resulting in fabrics that unravel or seams that fray over time. I want my quilts to be usable and machine washable, so I don’t combine quitting cotton with other substrates.
But that doesn’t mean that you can’t make patchwork with untraditional substrates! If you make a patchwork quilt exclusively out of linen, for example, it will wear evenly. Linen is a looser weave than quilting cotton, so it has the tendency to unravel at the cut edges. For that reason, sew linen patchwork with an extra-wide seam allowance (3/8” or 1/2”) and use a smaller than normal stitch length. Also, be sure to quilt it on the denser side to reinforce what will be a heavier quilt.
Hmmm - - - shall I sew another linen quilt? My scraps look inviting.
But I also have some rayon scraps that I really love, particularly the Rifle Paper Fabric co. prints. There is not enough here for a patchwork quilt, sadly. I am considering combining the rayon with voile, of which I have plenty.
Voile: butterfly, yellow diamonds, pink stripe. Rayon: floral prints and blue prints
I wonder if anyone has experience sewing patchwork with rayon or with a rayon/voile combination? They are both lightweight fabrics, so I think that the weights are evenly matched. Voile has more structure than rayon, making it easier to cut and sew neatly. I realize that the rayon will be difficult to work with, as it shifts and flops around, but these floral prints are so pretty that I am considering taking the challenge. I could spray the rayon with starch first, to help it behave better.
This morning I did some research on patchwork with rayon and found very few people talking about. The best account was from Slice of Pie Quilts, who made a whole quilt from rayon. I love how she describes the finished quilt.
“The final quilt is SO soft and SO cuddly. Like, think satin sheets. A bit cold to the touch and it just drapes like a melting popsicle.”
This all has me thinking that I could use a new, lightweight quilt for taking along on picnics and to the beach. I would finish such a quilt without batting so that it’s thin and compact to take-along. Choices, choices.
