Originally Posted by the casual quilter
I prewash fabric the same way I do my laundry. I wash in cold water and dry on regular heat. I use detergent but not fabric softener. I do use Color Catchers especially with reds and purples. If the Color Catchers seem really saturated with dye when I finish, I'll re-launder with another Color Catcher.
I do the same - cold water wash, VERY little detergent, NO fabric softener, liquid or sheets in dryer, and if the color is really really dark, I use two Color Catchers and might also have to do another wash cycle.
The only fabric I ever ran into a constant bleed was a hand dyed backing fabric. I had to wash that (all 3 yards of it) four times...and I made sure I used a large load setting to really get free agitation with that much fabric.