I am sort of new at quilting. The person who taught me so much, said don't pre wash. But reading on here it sounds like most of you pre wash. Can you all give me advise? Thank you.

I don't, some do. If you do a search you'll probably find a lot of discussions about it. :)

Wow this can really cause a debate. I personally wash all my fabric because the chemicals on the new fabric irritates my skin. After a while my fingernails starts to split and my hands itch.

It is a personal preference - what ever your prefer. Sometimes it is a matter of how fast you want to start the project when you bring the fabric home. Or lack of water, if you need to super conserve. Some really like the look of the fabric before it is washed, it is easy to handle too.

nope.

I never do unless it's flannel

Really? Cause that's an AWESOME quilt in your avatar!

I don't pre-wash anything bought in a LQS or made in a commercial environment (like batiks).

Personal preference. And I've also vowed never to make a red and white quilt. :mrgreen:

Good point - I was thinking after I posted earlier that I actually did wash the reds in my current quilt!

I usually prewash, if I get it done in time. Some of my baby quilts I'm finishing the stitching on the label just a few minutes before heading out the door. It ensures that I've left no germs or loose threads on the quilt. Plus it gives me the assurance that the quilt will withstand being washed, the seams are secure, and that the fabrics shouldn't bleed. I wash just like my normal laundry - cold water, regular cycle, dry on hot (my dryer is :-( and only has "cool knit" or "hot regular"). I use my normal detergent (either all or purex "free and clear").

Ooops, just realized this was "pre-washing fabric", not "pre-washing quilts prior to giving" - I don't prewash fabric purchased at stores. If purchasing from someone's stash, I do sometimes prewash due to possible animal hair and smoke.

I don't pre-wash fabric. Saves me a lot of time! However, I do test suspicious fabrics for potential bleeding, as I do not want to put a bleeder fabric into a quilt. To test I just cut off a 2-inch square of fabric, drop into a glass of water and watch to see if any dye seeps into the water. I also will rub the dampened fabric against white fabric to see if any dye "crocks". In my experience, something like 99.8% of all fabrics do not bleed; however, it only takes one bleeder to ruin a quilt.

I don;t