I will pre-wash fabrics if they are bright bold reds, purples, royal blues, etc. I will wash they with Retayne to set the colors. The rest of the quilt fabrics I will wash separately and throw in a color catcher. If I don't have any bold fabrics to set the colors then I don't pre-wash. So....I will either wash all the fabrics of a quilt I am going to make to make sure of uniform shrinkage, or I won't wash any of the quilt's fabrics. It all depends on the fabrics being used in the quilt. Does that make sense? Clear as mud? I always wash in cold water and set dryer to normal heat. I have found Retayne at my LQS and the color catchers are sold at WalMarts, Targets, and most supermarkets in the laundry soap aisles.