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Old 03-20-2013, 08:20 PM
  #3  
Prism99
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 12,930
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You can mix washed and unwashed in the same quilt top, but you need to be aware of a couple of things.

Once quilted moderately, the batting will control shrinkage so variations in shrinkage of fabric are really not an issue. (It *is* an issue if quilting lines are far apart -- say more than 6" -- or if a quilt is tied; then you would not want to mix washed and unwashed.)

To prevent possible bleeds from settling into other fabrics, it's a really good idea to wash the finished quilt with Synthrapol in a machine that uses a *lot* of water. Synthrapol suspends dye particles in the water so they are rinsed away. You need a washing machine that uses a lot of water so that any bleeds are diluted enough. Domestic front loaders don't use enough water for Synthrapol to be effective; however, domestic top loaders and laundromat front loaders are fine.
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