Thanks for this information.

good to know both me and baby have eczema

This is very good to know. I never thought of new clothing being suspect of having skin irrating agents in them! Thanks for the information.

I have posted several times on QB about pre-washing fabrics because of the chemicals in the fabrics. I have psoriasis and in the past year or so it has gotten incredibly worse. My hands have become involved so much so that they crack and bleed and are swollen to almost twice regular size and it has flared it up on other areas of my body. It has been linked back to fabrics. My hands will itch and burn after an afternoon of touching fabrics in a shop (favorite pasttime!!) I have different creams for different parts of my body and I take oral medications as well as I am now on the injections to get my psoriasis under control. There are so many chemicals in the fabric from manufacturing and to make it look crisp and pretty in the store. Thanks for the information about washing it 5 times. I definately will from now on. . .

I can just barely touch denim jeans in the store- if I get any of the dye on my hands, they go numb. I don't consider myself particularly sensitive- I guess I need to prewash more...

Just think--formadehyde is the main ingredient in the dying process of fabric design. Formadehyde is also the main ingredient in the embalming process. One wonders...if a quilter dies, will she ever fall to 'pieces'??

I thought they had quit using formaldehyde in fabric dyes years ago. I used to have problems with my eyes burning just walking into a fabric shop. That hasn't happened to me in the last thirty or so years. Of course I'm sure they now use other things that are just as irritating to some people now.

Thanks for the info -- I usually don't wash until I am ready to use the fabric, and then I throw it in with our clothes. I won't be doing that now.

I wash all my cotton fabric with ordinary detergent in the washing machine at 40 degrees, and again when the quilt is finished. The only exception might be if it is to be a wallhanging that is machine quilted, so I am not handling it so much. I hate the thought of giving someone a quilt that is full of chemicals, especially a child's quilt. I do think five times seems a bit over the top. PS: I wash all the fabrics together, but I will pre-wash the darkest ones separately first so that any excess dye is removed. So far I have been lucky and not had any disasters.

I believe I'll begin washing, washing, washing all my fabrics, as I make a lot of quilts for babies, and wow! How I'd hate for the quilt to be the fault of excema or psorasis, or any of those difficult to get under control skin irritations... not to mention it'd be healthier for me too. Thank you for the information - as it is something we all should take into consideration when doing quilts for chairty - whether it be for babies, or hospital victims, or even nursing home residents; they all have less immune systems when ill or first born, so need to be "pampered" with our gifts, not hurt by them.