To prevent tangling when prewashing in washing machine on long lengths of fabric, fold or fanfold in one yard or even less lengths and pin each corner with a safety pin or baste ....sure helps me.

I prewash a lot of my fabrics, if one in a project is prewashed they all are. I have had a couple of bad experiences myself, and seen even worse ones from friends, where entire quilts were ruined. it is a personal choice for sure. if a problem is going to arise, please let it be before i put all that effort and money into a project.

I'm a pre-washer. One bleeding, fading fabric is one too many...

I experienced a problem with that also but waited until the quilt was finished. It wasn't in the washing process but in the drying process that I had a problem.

I haven't been much of a pre-washer before now except on the darker colors that usually bleed. But I think I may have developed an allergy of some kind to the finish on some of the fabrics. I can get around certain fabrics in my sewing room that have a different feeling finish to them, and I itch like crazy! So they will go into the bathtub to soak for right now, as they're precut strips from a thrift store. I've wondered if I might have gotten some mites or something in with them, but I'm the only one that itches.

I too sew the ends together with a zig zag stitch across the end, sure helps with the tangling. Yes it takes a little time to rip out, but if there is fray going on, i just trim off the stitching. I hate tangled fabric.
Pre wash YOU bet I do. I have always prewashed fabric, since I began quilting, didn't much when making garments, depended on the color. Well even with prewashing (before I found out about Retayne and those amazing color catchers), about 5 yrs ago, I made DD a beautiful in my opinion queen size DWR with fabric of cream with specks of green at $12.00 a yard, for inner circle portion and same for the back. I used various shades of greens for the rings. All of the fabric was prewashed, but the first time the quilt was washed one of the greens faded in different places all over the quilt front and back. The quilt was Air dryed, and washed 3-4 times using everything I heard about to get the green spots out, but to no avail, they are still there. It has never been in a dryer. Greens seem to be really bad to bleed. You won't catch me not prewashing all of my fabrics after that incident. I was working when I made her quilt, and it took me about a year and a half to complete it. Too much time and expense spent, only to have it ruined in my opinion. I even prewash fabrics no matter the color that I have never had a problem with bleeding and am almost postive they won't bleed, but just not chancing it, rather spend a little time before all my work, than be devestated from a ruined quilt later.

It's like the leftover food saying, when in doubt, throw it out. When in doubt, wash it. When I dyed fabric for a small business venture, I washed, rinsed, rinsed, rinsed and rinsed some more, and still some colors tended to run. Love the color catchers.

Same with me- I started in the garment industry, too, so it's a natural. I'm about to start a red whole cloth quilt with a beautiful back that has a cream background with red...you bet I'll be trying color catchers, too!

I prewash and have found even some expensive batiks bleed and bleed and bleed. So, no more of those for me. For Father's Day, bought my husband two pairs of jeans (what he needed, not wanted) and could see that they probably should be prewashed. He was amazed at all the color that came out on the Color Catcher! We washed them twice and the Color Catcher picked up dye both times.

DITTO! For a brief period of time, I did the wash, starch, & press routine, but whatever starched fabric I didn't use had to be re-washed. Whole process is a big PITA for me. For quilts I do with batiks, particularly pre-cuts, I baste an inexpensive muslin all around the edges of the completed top, covering all the seam allowances (to catch loose threads), then throw it in the washer with color catchers and that has worked well for me. It doesn't take long to baste the muslin on or to remove the basting. The muslin not only catches the loose threads, but gives me some idea of how much bleeding there is.