Originally Posted by Robinlee

ohhhhhhhhh.........as a past 4-Her, being taught to pre-wash fabric before making clothing and whatever else, didn't change for me when I started quilting. Old habits are hard to change. But I also learned something else. I buy most of fabric at quilt shops, so I do buy quality stuff, fat quarters and larger amounts. My third quilt I completed 8 years ago was for my daughter and husband. I prewashed all the fabrics, a navy blue (Nancy Crow), a bright yellow, white fabrics with scrappy blocks (misc scraps from 20 years of sewing and quilting). Used a marking pencil made for quilting to mark personal design long-arm quilting on borders. Once LA quilting was completed, put binding on and did a final washing before it was given to the kids. My mother was just sick, when she pulled it out of the washer.......the blue ran, ran, ran...the yellow ran, ran, ran. And to top it off........the varigated thread (high-end)purchased at a quilt shop also ran for all it was worth too.........My mom felt so bad, because of the work I had put into, and knew that I had washed everything before hand, and also knew that I had hand washed in kitchen sink (HOT water) the "blue" before I put it in the washer for a general wash. As you can tell I was't taking any chances. Well even after that, it still ran.

Yes, we don't like the threads from the fabric after a washing, but my cure for me, is to only "fill" in hot water, run on gentle cycle, and "spin" twice. It cuts down on the threads that we get. As to the fat quarters, and I just also include doing this for the Jelly rolls, I wash in hot water in the kitchen sink or very large bowl. I have found that using my spagette spoon for stirring helps "stir-out" any color that might be left on them. You will be surprised how many times it will take to hand rinse before the water is clear. then I run on the gentle cycle in "spin" mode.

I have use the "color catchers", and believe they work really well. I even include a couple when I've given a quilt to someone with explanation of use. Was told if I had use this for the kids quilt, in the pre-wash stage, may not of had the running of fabrics. Course they had just come-out, so I hadn't heard about them till after this had happened. I now use the "color catchers" when I pre-wash "all" my fabrics whether for quilting or clothes. Then I press them with my iron and starch as I am working on blocks.

Hope I helped someone with my 30+ years of experience with fabrics.