Hi from Ohio! Yes I wash all my material first.
This tip came from Kaye Wood newsletter
Tips From Our Readers....
I have taken a lot of classes over the years and heard teachers give their reasons for washing and not washing cottons for quilts. My mom and grandmother always washed their fabrics so I just did the same. About 4 years ago I bought some fabric to make a quilt at a local shop and two weeks later I bought some other fabric to go with it at another local quilt store here in Cincinnati. Both pieces came out of the washer solid gray. Trust me they did not go in that way. I have sewn for 40 years and this is the first time I have ever seen that and both pieces were bought about two weeks apart. Both stores cheerfully took the pieces back and gave me my money. One store's representative said the bolt must have skipped the last step to seal the fabric color in. I don't know if it is true but I learned right there to always wash my fabric. Can you imagine if you made the quilt, washed it and had all these gray pieces in a your beautiful quilt. It would be ruined! Or even worse gave it away and they washed it.... Phyllis