I'm about to start a quilt using batiks. Most, if not all, are Kaufman and Hoffman fabrics, therefore, the good stuff. Should I wash them and if so how? Hot water/cold water/ soap/ no soap? If I prewash, what kind of starch would you recommend? This is the quilt I solicited opinions about frogs for a 16 year old. Everyone thought I should use frogs, so I plan to fussy cut a frog in each block. Many thanks for your previous answers and answers to my new questions! You are all so helpful and encouraging! :)

i treat all my batiks with retayne before i use them and i use spray starch when i iron.

wash in cold water and spray starch ....love batiks

What is Retayn?

A dye fixative.

http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1981-AA.shtml

Do you prewash with or without soap as well? Thanks for the link.

No soap if using retayne. I use soap if I am not using a dye fixative.

I wash everything in hot water, to get the maximum shrinkage. (Wouldn't expect the batiks to shrink much though.)

I test a square of my batiks by soaking it in water for a while, if i see bleeding, I wash the culpirt fabric in hot water with Retayne..no soap. Then i wash it all in cold water with soap to get the chemicals out...don't like chemicals exposure on my skin while I sew.

I don't prewash my batiks. I do test for colorfastness if I suspect a fabric might bleed. For bleeders, I will wash with Retayne.

Shrinkage is usually not an issue for real batiks because they are processed in hot water baths anyway.