Originally Posted by barnbum
I always prewash. A pain, but I must. Now I put it in the washing machine with a tiny bit of detergent, and agitate it by hand. Then spin. Then fill with water--agitate by hand again, spin and dry. An extra step, but I never wash the quilts after I make them, except for ragged flannels, and even those I might spray with water and dry. I like the unwashed look for as long as it lasts.
To hand agitate the fabric is an excellent suggestion - that way one avoids any "roughing up" of the fabric - and still can take care of any shrinkage that might occur.
And, yes, shrinkage does occur. I can tell from when I was still using tepid water - some of the lengths are now only 35 inches (from the LQS that measured closely) and I KNOW I purchased a full yard.
For the first pass on fabrics, I try to put only lights with lights. For the dark colors I only put the same colors together. In case one of them has bad manners, I can work some more with it to see if I can get the excess dye off/out of it.
I've decided that if I can't get a fabric to stop "bleeding" dye after several run-throughs, the proper place for it is either to be returned or put in the trash.
For "to be used quilts" - especially a child's quilt - I just assume the person doing the laundry is just going to toss it in the wash and hope for the best. I would guess that most young mothers would not even think of dye catchers or anything else like that after the blankie has been puked on. They just want it to be clean again.
The idea of sending a dye catcher along with a quilt is a good idea - but I think having no dye floating around is an even better idea. But there might be other articles in the wash that have bad manners.
It still comes down to personal preference. I've had just enough experience with shrinkage and dye running/bleeding to be into prevention.