However you buy your batiks - I would strongly suggest that you prewash them. I started buying batik fat quarters after buying the "Lucky Star" pattern - it called for 30 fat quarters. Then I found another pattern that used fat quarters - so decided to start buying half yard cuts instead of the fat quarters. Then, I started LOVING the batiks so much that I started buying one yard cuts. I had quite a stack of them and one day I just finished washing some dishes and my pure white plastic dish pan was empty and clean - so I decided to dunk a few FQ in the water with a drop of liquid detergent and was I SURPRISED - most of them bled. A couple of them bled so bad that I threw them away. They would never rinse clean. I rolled each piece in big thirsty bath towels and then hung them up on clothes lines that I had my DH to string up in the house. They dried fairly unwrinkled and I have folded them and put them on shelves un-ironed. Just figured that I would iron them when I finally cut them up. Also, one of the very few that I felt was not very good quality was one that had the JoAnn's paper wrap on it - it was very rough - most of the batiks are very smooth and slilky feeling.
Hope this helps!!!