I have always noticed W&N having a smell, but then, I can smell an odor from most fabrics-quilt shop quality or Walmart quality. The cheaper the fabric-the more the smell it seems. I am very allergic to the formaldehyde used in fabric. I washed just over 800 yds of fabric in my stash and got rid of about 200 yds. Now I prewash ALL fabric. My sister (not a pre-washer) sent me a quilt to quilt on my frame and I thought I was going to croak! I could only work on it a half-hour at a time!