Before and After
As you probably know by now, most of the things I make are gifts for friends and family. I never seem to have time to sew anything for myself. And because I've never taken the time to make something for myself, I'm not even sure the stuff I make will look good once it's been washed a few times (with the exception of quilts...all mine have been fine so far).
Since Laura and I are planning to sell things at the craft fair in just over a month, I figured it was time to do some quality testing.
First up, a cloth napkin fresh out of the dryer:
The cotton thread on the inside and outside shrank and pulled up the corners. I knew this would happen but I wasn't sure if it would recover after a good ironing.
15 seconds later, it's back to normal:
Now, a cotton tea towel with a patchwork strip:
Not bad...everything is sort of the same amount of crinkly. I thought the patchwork would shrink more than the towel but it didn't. I bet most people don't iron their tea towels so I'm happy it looks good right out of the dryer. I, on the other hand, obsessively iron all my dishtowels:
And lastly, I finally made a potholder for myself. I took this picture after I tried to flatten it out (forgot to take a before shot).
It was curled up a bit when I took it out of the dryer. It could be because the cotton batting shrank more than the Insul-Bright or because it cooled in the dryer in a curved position. Either way, it smoothed out nicely without any ironing.
I'm excited because my tests went better than expected. I'm also excited because I finally have some fun things for me to keep. I can't wait to hang the towel in the kitchen and use the potholder the next time I make cookies. And maybe I can convince my grandma that paper plates and napkins aren't as fun as real plates and cloth napkins. That might be a losing battle but at lease I can use real plates and cloth napkins. I plan to make it look appealing.
Also I have a favor to ask: if I ever made you something and it totally failed or looked terrible after it came out of the dryer, will you let me know? Trust me, I'd rather know than not know. Thanks in advance and sorry if I gave you something crappy.
Since Laura and I are planning to sell things at the craft fair in just over a month, I figured it was time to do some quality testing.
First up, a cloth napkin fresh out of the dryer:
The cotton thread on the inside and outside shrank and pulled up the corners. I knew this would happen but I wasn't sure if it would recover after a good ironing.
15 seconds later, it's back to normal:
Now, a cotton tea towel with a patchwork strip:
Not bad...everything is sort of the same amount of crinkly. I thought the patchwork would shrink more than the towel but it didn't. I bet most people don't iron their tea towels so I'm happy it looks good right out of the dryer. I, on the other hand, obsessively iron all my dishtowels:
And lastly, I finally made a potholder for myself. I took this picture after I tried to flatten it out (forgot to take a before shot).
It was curled up a bit when I took it out of the dryer. It could be because the cotton batting shrank more than the Insul-Bright or because it cooled in the dryer in a curved position. Either way, it smoothed out nicely without any ironing.
I'm excited because my tests went better than expected. I'm also excited because I finally have some fun things for me to keep. I can't wait to hang the towel in the kitchen and use the potholder the next time I make cookies. And maybe I can convince my grandma that paper plates and napkins aren't as fun as real plates and cloth napkins. That might be a losing battle but at lease I can use real plates and cloth napkins. I plan to make it look appealing.
Also I have a favor to ask: if I ever made you something and it totally failed or looked terrible after it came out of the dryer, will you let me know? Trust me, I'd rather know than not know. Thanks in advance and sorry if I gave you something crappy.