I bought Patty Reed panels today (at JoAnn's 50% off red tag sale) to make fish pillows as Christmas gifts for my great-nephews. They will love these pillows!!! (One lives on a boat and loves to fish and the other one has several fish tanks at home.) I usually pre-wash everything to avoid unpleasant surprises and also to wash out chemicals, etc. Do you think it would hurt to pre-wash the panels before cutting? I was thinking of pre-washing them and then using some light spray sizing to restore any body lost in washing. What do you think?