Originally Posted by
Juzsayin
I usually wash my new fabric when making quilts, but last time fabric came out looking faded and dingy, even though I just put through a delicate rinse cycle. My question is: Can you get the same result as washing (shrinkage, loss of stiffness) through steam ironing? Thanks
My answer is yes and no. I don't use a steam iron but I spray my fabric with water or Best Press until it's fairly damp and then iron. My iron is waaaaaaaaay hotter than the dryer and it's the dryer that shrinks your fabric, not the washer. What you don't lose is the stiffness. But I don't want to work with limp fabric. I like my fabric nice and crisp to work with. If it fades it fades.