Hi. I subscribe to the wash first then put into a quilt, but there are friends of mine who don't and their quilts come out fine. With my luck that wouldn't happen. It just comes down to "buyer be alert", and the prices are good. I found some great precut fleece mark-downs at Wal -Mart for $3.50 last month. Some were $5.00, but I plan on making stuffed toys for my grand-daughter to play with. I was looking for something else in their dwindling craft dept., but sometimes you get the best deals when you're not looking. Nice chatting with you.