Prism99

I'm with jcrow.

Synthrapol and Retayne are not expensive, especially since they are used in small quantities. Synthrapol is similar in composition to Dawn dishwashing liquid, so there is no issue about weird chemicals with it. Not sure about Retayne, but that I use only on "bleeder" fabrics to see if they will stop bleeding. I haven't had a bleeder fabric in several years, so it's pretty much a non-issue.

I always do a first wash of a quilt in Synthrapol with lots of hot water, and have never had a quilt get stained with dye bleeds.

Fabrics will shrink in different proportions when washed by themselves. When quilted to a batting, however, the batting controls shrinkage and does not allow fabrics to shrink or distort more than the batting itself does. I once attended a class with Harriet Hargrave where she passed around an entirely *flannel* quilt she had made to prove that even flannel does not need to be pre-washed if you do a reasonable amount of quilting to bind the layers together.

Unwashed fabrics have more body, making accurate cutting and piecing easier for me. To achieve a similar stabilization with prewashed fabric, I would have to apply starch.

I would call *myself* the lazy quilter! I save the time and energy involved in washing, drying, ironing, and folding fabrics. I can go directly from unpacking my fabric purchases to cutting and sewing a quilt. If we're looking at cost savings, I would venture to say that the cost of my bottles of Synthrapol and Retayne have been paid for several times over by savings in electricity and soap.

Different people are comfortable with different approaches to quilting. I think preferring to prewash is just another one of those comfort-level questions that every quilter has to answer for herself.

Incidentally, I started out as a prewasher! That was several decades ago, and I have to say I have been a very happy non-prewasher for a long time now. For me, it is a great relief not to have to do all that extra work before I can start on a quilt.

Edit: PaperPrincess. Instead of washing and measuring fabrics on their own, try quilting the fabric strips to batting and backing first. I think you will find that the shrinkage on all strips will be the amount that the batting shrinks; the differing amounts that fabrics shrink on their own will become a non-issue.