Well, that'll teach me :-(
 

I bought some fabric at Walmart, Waverly fabric, the color of which perfectly matched a table runner and placemats that my DIL and I sewed for their new dining room table. I don't usually, make that never, pre-wash so I happily began to sew the squares the 17 inches they recommend for napkins. I had pinked the edges to it wouldn't fray and sewed that down.

I just took them all out of the wash, I usually wash quilts, etc. before gifting them and there was this tangled mass of napkins, threads coming out of everywhere plus they had shrunk almost 3 inches each. Now I'll have to carefully try to turn under and hem again.

Just a cautionary tale, if you buy Waverly fabric from Wally World, you should wash it first

it seems to me that the general quality of all brands of fabric has gone downhill in the past 5 years or so.
i have found it best to pre-wash everything - no matter where i bought it; no matter what the brand; no matter how much i paid.

this from a quilter who used to avoid pre-washing like the plague. :confused:

I'm another that pre-washes. Hope your napkins come out alright. :)

Patrice - I agree - I have also noticed that the quality of fabrics seems to have declined even from the best local quilt shop. I"ve been buying more than needed to allow for the shrinkage so that I don't come up short and have gotten back into the "pre wash" habit even though I hate the process.

Roberta - So sorry to hear about your napkin mess - very frustrating!

There are some cotton fabrics that feel like silk almost like a sateen but the price is extremely high and the jury is still out on the durability/longevity of these - have seen reviews saying that they are pretty and soft for about a year and then they start to shred.

I always pre wash, no matter what brand. Habit, I guess.

I also wash before cutting.

In fact, I soak the fabric in HOT water, then wash and dry gently, before cutting.

I have had enough unpleasant surprises to make it worth the effort.

I was wondering about the quality of the Waverly cottons that I have seen at WalMart. It seemed to look and feel okay and the colors are lovely.

How did the color survive washing?

Thanks for the info. I'm not a pre-washer. This will save all of us non pre-washers a lot of frustration.

I also pre-wash everything I use. If it is going to shrink or color run, I want to know about it before I put it in a quilt. Quilting is an expensive hobby and I don't want to waste time and money by having something ruined the first time it is washed.

I taught a 4H sewing class back in the spring and we used the Waverly cotton quilting fabric and some of the deco fabric. The kids were pulling strings continually from their work. Strings everywhere!!!! The deco fabric was the worst!

I agree with the prewashing. Seems like it doesn't matter what brand or where it is purchased, it seems to shrink. Better to be safe than sorry.