I pre-wash everything, by color, before I store it. Hot wash, warm rinse, minimal detergent, no softener, gentle cycle, fabrics only (no clothes, etc), and no more than 10 yards at a time. The gentle cycle prevents fabric knotting in the washer.
I prewash for the following reasons:
to remove the chemicals (formaldehyde, insect repellants, sizing, stiffeners, etc) so it's clean,
to shrink the fabric so it doesn't shrink later on,
to remove excess dyes so it doesn't bleed, run, or need to be forever washed with Color Catchers,
to make sure the fabric is ready for fusing, painting, or dyeing if I choose to go that route spontaneously,
to return the grain to it's normal position so what I create with it is accurate.
I then trim any loose threads, shake the fabric flat, toss it into the dryer and proceed to dry on regular heat, no softener, on the setting that turns the machine off when the load is dry.
I follow that routine because it has resulted in no fabrics knotting up in the dryer and no frayed edges (Kona Solids included) measuring more than an eighth of an inch for the many years I've been doing it.
I fold the fabric and store it flat until I'm ready to use it.
I iron, yes iron, the fabric following the grain, with or without steam and/or a water spray, depending on the 'wrinkleness', no starch at all, not ever.
I do not use starch/sizing/Best Press/etc for the following reasons:
to keep the fabric chemical and additive free for the same reason I pre-washed it,
to keep the fabric in it's natural state so I can work WITH it, not beat it into submission,
to keep the fabric on grain,
to assure that the fabrics, when washed in the finished quilt, do not 'relax' from some shape they were forced into by starching,
to assure that no bugs will be attracted to starched fabric that has to be restored for any reason (earwigs are a potential pest here).
Fabric is flexible, pliable and supple by it's very nature. That's what I love about it and that's how I want to work with it. For me, it loses it's very spirit when it's turmed into cardboard. We each do what suits us the best and that's the way it should be, certainly when it comes to quilting anyway.
WAY too wordy, sorry.
