I am not an expert quilter, but I'm an expert "starcher." I know that quilters are divided on this topic, but here's my 2 cents. I wash every piece of fabric as soon as I bring it home. Then iron it using spray starch in the "heavy" version. I fold up the fabric and add it to my stash. I spent the 5th of July doing this very thing (bought lots of fabric during the week-end sales).