a friend of mine gave me many nice pieces of homesum fabric. i have a fat quarter pattern -- lucky stars by atkinson designs. i want to make the stars out of the homespun fabric. can i make the background fabric out of a small print cotton or kona solid. do you think the two will wash nicely together when the quilt is finished. i am thinking about making a queen size.

No reason you can't use both. Because they will shrink at a different rate I would pre-wash both.

Is the homespun cotton? then sure. Just prewash both fabrics, it helps to starch. Use a shorter stitch length.
this has been discussed many times before. Use the search feature at the top of the page.

you can certainly mix homespuns with other cottons but you should wash the homespuns first- the homespuns will shrink more than the other cottons because they are a looser weave-
so as long as they are prewashed you can use them- i make flannel/homespun/cotton/corduroy quilts all the time- they are wonderful!

I don"t know why not.

thanks for your quick reply. can't wait to get started.

sorry for not knowing that this was already discussed. i do not often get to read all the posts and discussions brought to the board.

Why not? Prewash first to shrink the fabric. Homespuns tend to shrink more than a regular cotton does due to the looser weave.

I have...do prewash first though.

Yes you can mix homespun fabrics and regular cotton fabrics.
Check out this thread: http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-157550-1.htm

My quilt has woven(homespun) plaids and stripes combined with civil war reproduction shirting prints.

Sharon W. in Texas