It goes in my stash or I play with it if I have a pattern in mind. Sometimes, I pull fabric from my stash to see what I have that will go with it and make a complete mess of my sewing room, but it's fun. I don't prewash until I am ready to use it and then I wash all the fabrics selected for that project at the same time. Sometimes as I'm ironing my selections, I will change a fabric out.