I don't wash....I'm with the group that likes the crinkly look after the quilt's first wash. My grandmother mades lots and lots of quilts and all of hers had that homey crinkly look. I loved them then and I love them now! Also I have a friend who owns a quilt shop, and she tells me that if you are uing quilt shop quality fabric in quilts they may shrink a little, but you are not going to have a lot of color bleeding. So far I've found that to be true. But even if there is one that bleeds, I wouldn't stress over it.