I have begun a wall hanging recently for which I chose cotton fabric, cotton thread and cotton batting. But I started to think that maybe for a wall hanging I should have chosen polyester fabric, thread and batting because if the fabric is a percentage of cotton and a percentage of polyester, there is no shrinkage, the colors are more apt to not run or fade. There would be no need to prewash the fabric, and when the finished wall hanging finally appeared soiled after hanging on the wall for a year or so, washing it would not give it that puckery appearance that we like on our bed quilts. The wall hanging would look as it did when it was first finished. Or would it??????? ;-)