My February OMG is complete and with a bonus. I set my February goal to quilt my King size Buffalo Plaid Quilt.
I used Hobbs Tuscany wool batting. Once I had the sandwich pinned, I was ready to go. You know my choice was straight line. I quilted this on my Janome 9400, thank goodness for the larger throat space. Needless to say my shoulders were not feeling their best after the quilting was completed.
I did vary my binding choice a bit. My go to binding is black and white striped. Slight change up here to a denim and white stripe.
Once the quilting and binding was done, I needed to find a laundromat to wash this one. Then it was on to making two shams. I took a sham from our other bedroom and checked it out. Decided to follow that pattern and do an envelope fold on the back.
I turned out pretty good. Just needed to add the binding and give it a wash.
Off to the laundromat we go. I have a washer that will wash a king quilt, but for the first wash I wanted to be sure it had room to move in washer and I didn’t want to wrestle with it in the dryer.
I was glad to have made this King oversized. I knew there would be some shrinkage, but wasn’t sure how much. I had read the linen will shrink a bit more. Here is my washing results:
Pre Wash Post Wash
Quilt 115.5 x 104 108 x 97
Shams 21 x 26.5 20.5 x 25.25
Lessons learned:
I love the wool batting, but for a king it added a required a lot more muscle for moving it and holding it during the quilting process.
I have already committed to myself to make another King with Christmas fabric. That will be my last king quilt and it will not have wool batting.
Linking Up With:
A wonderful bed quilt! I finished a large bed quilt last summer for my nephew and I know exactly what you are talking about between the batting and sore shoulders and getting it through your machine. Well done!
Congratulations, it’s beautiful and looks wonderful on your bed with the matching shams. Shrinkage is pretty amazing. After tracking it for years, I assume 10% shrinkage but find that it is usually between 7-8% , just like you saw here. 🙂
Lovely finish: perfect for an all white bedroom. Interesting info on shrinkage. I always wash my finished quilts, and not the fabric beforehand too, and I take account of 8 – 10% potential shrinkage.
Wow! This looks great on the bed! Beautiful finish.
What a wonderful, classic quilt! So crisp and inviting. Finishing a king on a Janome is a real accomplishment, too. Congratulations on a finish you can enjoy every day 🙂
So cute, Jan! Sounds like the wool didn’t shrink as much–with cotton it’s about 10% shrinkage. It looks cute on your bed! Will your Christmas buffalo be three fabrics, also?
Very nice, Jan. Looks great in your room!
This is such a striking quilt – I love the blues and the striped binding is great! I can’t imagine quilting a king on a domestic. I have some serious shoulder pain in my left shoulder, and it gets really sore even after my small wall quilts! I’ll bet that wool batting makes for a really comfy quilt to snuggle under, though! Great finish, jan! Will be fun to see your colors for the Christmas version.
Jan, you quilted a monster King quilt with wool batting on a domestic machine?! I am in awe! And it looks fantastic! You deserve a 2-hour massage after that! I am fascinated by the laundromat idea. I’ve got a 120″ x 120″ top of my own that has been waiting forever for me to quilt it, and I’m planning to use Quilter’s Dream Wool batting. But I was worried about that first wash, too, because even though I have an “XL Capacity” front load washer, 120″ x 120″ is massive and the wool batting will only add to the bulk. I don’t even know where to find a laundromat near me. Do laundromats have much larger machines? I had considered finding a dry cleaner who would launder my finished quilt. It’s not just the drum capacity of the washer that concerns me, but also a feeling that dye bleed/transfer is more likely to happen in a high efficiency washer like mine that uses barely any water and has the wet quilt fabrics tumbling against one another. Anyway, I’ve definitely had more dye disasters with quilts since we got that fancy Miele. Makes me want to find a nice circa 1985 top-loading vintage washing machine just for my quilts!
It looks fantastic on that white bed!
Wow, I love, love, love your quilt! I was surprised that you had so much shrinkage. I have a couple of pieces of linen for future projects and now I am wondering if mixing with cottons is a good idea. I do preshrink my fabrics before using…so that would probably help I aim guessing you don’t prewash. I used to do all my quilting on my domestic sewing machine and I applaud you for doing this quilt! I don’t think I ever tackled one that size.
I bet you are just thrilled with how great that looks!!! Totally makes your room!
Stunning quilt. The straight line is the right choice for this one. Congrats on your finish.
I love this and you did such a fantastic job on such a large quilt! I agree about needing that laundromat for the first wash – at least. I am not surprised at all by the shrinkage. Did you dry it in the dryer? I congratulate you and your shoulders and hope that the next one goes a bit easier. Are there any quilt stores that will rent you a longarm if you like doing it yourself….seems worth it to me? Nonetheless, congratulations on an heroic effort and a gorgeous quilt! And thanks for linking to TGIFF!
This looks amazing! Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and congrats on your finish!
I really love buffalo plaid quilts, and the binding is perfect for it! This look so striking in the photo – very striking and appealin room. <3