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Prewashing aida cloth

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 3:37 am
by Darlene
I have a kit that I would like to get started on, but when I opened it the aida fabric was so stiff I could hardly manipulate it on to my q-snap!
Do any of you pre-wash aida cloth? I'm concerned that it will shrink (which i would expect, but how much shrinkage?) and come out misshapen.
Any help will be much appreciated. Thanks

Re: Prewashing aida cloth

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 3:54 am
by Mystonique
Aida shouldn't shrink at all. Aida is generally made out of materials (like cotton) that do not shrink and it should be prewashed to ensure that it doesn't.

Lots of stitchers do pre wash to get rid of the starch but personally I like it when it's stiff as I find the needle passes through more easily - I have been known to starch a project mid way through lol.

Re: Prewashing aida cloth

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 4:32 am
by Darlene
Interesting, thanks. But, please tell me, if it is super stiff, doesn't your thread get caught and possibly shred? Or your hands/arms get caught and scratched?
Maybe my fabric is especially stiff!

Re: Prewashing aida cloth

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:25 am
by Solitaire
I've noticed that Zweigart is very stiff and seems to have a sticky coating where as DMC is slightly softer when new

Re: Prewashing aida cloth

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:13 am
by Mystonique
I've never had a problem.

Re: Prewashing aida cloth

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:18 pm
by Arianwen
I've never had a problem either and I never pre-wash my fabric

I'm stitching my current project on a really stiff smoke grey aida from Charles Coats (I think) and while its softened slightly, its still really stiff compared to what I am used to. I haven't found that it shreds or affects the threads at all. Sure I catch the edges with my threads or with my hands/arms but never painfully and its never left a mark

It can be a struggle getting it onto my qsnap to start with, but then its on, there are no problems at all

Re: Prewashing aida cloth

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:24 pm
by Nachstenliebe
So my love of the stiffness of my aida isn't weird!!! I dunno.. I just find it part of the passion of starting a new project...
Faith

Re: Prewashing aida cloth

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 4:13 pm
by Rose
It should not cause you any problem is you want to leave it alone but if you want to wash it, that is ok as well. It will not shrink as aida cloth is pre-shrunk. If you hang the cloth to dry and pull it into shape then give it a quick steam iron you will be fine. I wash all of my projects when they are finished and I have NEVER had any problems. :wink:

Re: Prewashing aida cloth

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:45 pm
by lala
I tried it once after reading some of the comments on this thread & the aida came out worse than before. Still stiff & wrinkled. I tried steam ironing it and nothing worked for me. It came in a kit so maybe the aida wasn't a good quality to begin with.

Re: Prewashing aida cloth

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 2:07 pm
by KateThePlate
Nachstenliebe wrote:So my love of the stiffness of my aida isn't weird!!! I dunno.. I just find it part of the passion of starting a new project...
Faith

Me too. I love how it's stiff. It makes me excited!!! I almost resent the aida when it goes soft, am I mad? lol xx

Re: Prewashing aida cloth

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 4:13 am
by Mystonique
Did you wash in cold or hot water? and did you dry it naturally or in the dryer? You need to wash it in hot water and wool wash to get the starch out and then let it dry naturally.

Re: Prewashing aida cloth

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 7:17 pm
by stitchiemom
I have had some fabrics that are very stiff. I like my fabric taught in the the hoop but when I'm working with stuff that is too stiff I will crinkle it up, much like doing to new money. This makes it easier to hoop, but I haven't used q-snaps so I don't know if it will be better or worse.

Re: Prewashing aida cloth

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 10:06 pm
by Lizzieh
I have found that it often starts off stiff but as soon as you start stitching and handling it it will soften up a lot.