Originally Posted by maryb.43
Prepare yourself for some "eye rolling"...this is one of those beginner questions that will surely make you sigh. You are trying to piece BR2 and my 20 yards of Kona cotton is in at the LQS. I have never bought this much fabric...like maybe 5 yards once or twice. So....the question...how do you wash that much stuff. Cut it? How big? Do you just cut and wash 6 yards or something and then do the rest later? Or what. I have looked at to wash/not to wash in the threads and am guessing washing is in order...cold water? Little bit of soap, or no? Really, I know, this is exasperating.
trust me, no one is rolling eyes, we've all asked this question at one time or another is our quilting career.
i too only wash what i'm going to be using for a project and leave my stash unwashed until its going to be used.
with my jane stuff, i washed huge sections of fabric as one piece.
since you have an entire bolt and i'm going to say you might not use the entire bolt to make the jane - so i would cut it off in sections and wash it like that.
the amount you cut can be anywhere from 4-8 yards depending on how much you can fit nicely in your machine.
i do the following when washing any fabric for use.
i put the fabric inside a pillowcase and tie a knot in the pillowcase to close it.
i'll wash on gentle cycle and i use what ever water temperature i think the final quilt will be washed in later in its life (read here: baby fabric i wash in hot water because some parents like to be extra careful with the baby stuff).
i toss in a color catcher and some laundry soap.
when done, i open the pillowcase, pull the fabric out, and toss all of it in the dryer along with the pillowcase.
when i wash large yardage that i use a little at a time, like the jane stuff, i just fold the fabric and put it away in my closet.
then when i want to use it, i cut off about 1/2 yard at a time, and use spray starch and iron the fabric for use.