Originally Posted by justwannaquilt
Starch and press BEFORE you cut. I never prewash, I have seen some fabrics shrink as I am spraying them with starch! I always starch before cutting for this exact reason. Wasting expensive fabric!
Sounds like you learned the same way I did. I am now a fervent believer in pre-washing and starching almost everything.
I have had many fabrics shrivel up before my eyes as I was pressing them and some (the really cheap, thin ones) would shrivel even more as I was piecing & pressing. Now I turn my iron all the up and press everything before I make a cut. If it's just squares--I don't worry about the starch but if any of the fabric is going to be cut on the bias--It gets starched and I don't care if it came from the $1 table at Walmart or fresh out of the Moda factory at the $10 LQS.