I have a huge collection of batik fat quarters and when I started coming to this board I started reading about pre-washing, especially batiks. So, when my kitchen dish pan was empty and clean - pure white - I started washing them - in a drop or two of liquid detergent - swished around by hand, wrung out very gently by hand, rolled in big, thirsty towels on my counters and then just draped over some removeable clothes lines that my DH put up in the laundry room - yes, they dried very quickly. I refolded them the way that they were and did not have to iron any of them. Of course, I ironed them as I used them. But, this method did not create many/any wrinkles - nor were there any strings to cut off. By the way, some of the batiks bled and bled - so bad that I had to throw 2 of them away. One was a dark blue and it reminded me of an octopus squirting out his "ink" when caught. The other one that I threw away was a green and gold piece of batik - never did stop bleeding.