I wash all my fabrics, and for table toppers and place mats I shrink the batting by soaking in hot water and then dry in the hot dryer. (easy to do for smaller pieces) I also quilt the heck of out both the toppers and the place mats so that when they are washed and dried in the dryer, nothing budges. They are quite stiff, but I don't mind, and mostly they don't even see an iron.