I just got done with hand washing ALL of my batiks - over 200 pieces. I started buying fat quarters and quickly decided to buy 1/2 yard pieces unless I really liked it - and then bought bigger pieces. Anyway, for the most part they are very smooth and almost silky feeling. The only ones that seemed to be "cheap" were the fat quarters that I got at JoAnn Fabric. A few bled a lot though - so pre-washing is a must. Out of 200, I don't think that there were 5 that even had a name on the selvage.