Why I wash fabrics before cutting them.

Actually, now I "marinate" them in hot water, and then wash them in warm and dry on Permanent Press setting.

1) Some fabrics shrink. Some more than others. Sometimes - if the shrinkage is severe - it can even pull out of a seam. I prefer a flat look to the puckered look. And even if I did want a puckered look, I would go for a batting that shrinks and get more or less even puckers.

2) Some fabrics will bleed. (I soak like colors together - so in case something does run, it won't be a disaster.) I'd rather know sooner than later.
I also hope that the recipient will care for the quilt, but I doubt that many of them would know to use a dye catcher or something similar.

Babies are leaky. Sometimes one doesn't catch the leak until it's been there for a while. Sometimes color will be okay/stay put it it just goes for a quick dip, but not for a soak.

(I know this because I had let some fabrics set while waiting their turn to go in the dryer)

3) I like to know what the true nature of the fabric is. Is it limp? (I think using starch/sizing to make it more hefty than it is, is cheating) Using it to make it easier to handle is something else. Are the grain lines perpendicular to each other? Is it permanently off-grain?

4) Some fabrics smell weird when they come from the store.

5) I want to know how badly it wrinkles when it is dried. Some fabrics can be "hand-pressed" - and folded and put away. Some come out of the dryer so rumpled, they look like they were permanently scrunched - and they don't press well.

I do try to handle the fabrics gently - which is why I go for a soak in hot water first - and dry for as short a time as possible. With only a few things in the dryer at a time.

good tips

Thank you for sharing this with us :D:D:D

I agree. I'm new to quilting but I like all the reasons you've mentioned, and also always wash my fabric before using!

I'm right there with you.....for ALL the reasons you mentioned...good job.

I agree with you too! Very valid reasons! My dear friend has not washed a stitch of quilting fabric in years--so I decided to give it a try, too. She laughed when I told her I went back and pulled out the non washed lengths and threw them in the rinse cycle of my washer and into the dryer.
PS I've been sewing for 40 years and was taught you always prewash fabric!

Ditto to all your reasons, bearisgray, and I have one more: to remove all the chemicals added during the manufacturing process (and any other grunge that may have attached itself to the surface).

I think some finishes are more or less permanent - but washing gets some of the excess off, anyway.

I agree. I always wash and dry all fabric, usually as soon as I bring it in the door! And use a color catcher. Then I never have to worry and it's all ready to use whenever the mood strikes.

After reading another post - another reason to prewash -

Who knows where this fabric has been before it gets to your home? Washing seems to remove or minimize allergens some people are sensitive to.