Bree123

I do not have problems with fabrics getting duller with washing. I have found that with Moda Bella fabrics, that the fabric does look quite different after it's washed the first time. This is due to removing the chemical treatment that gives the fabric a bright, shiny look in the store. I now mostly stick to RK Kona solids. I haven't had any issues with LQS quality prints or batiks fading. Batiks, hand-dyed fabrics & some solids will occasionally bleed -- but that doesn't change the color.

I wash everything in Cold water, on the gentlest cycle available, with a small amount of Tide Free (or another dye-free, fragrance-free detergent; dyes & fragrances can negatively impact the fabric dye and/or fiber strength). No bleach, no fabric softener (same reason as the detergent). I usually will dry most of the way on Low heat in the dryer. Then I will either block flat or sometimes if it's just a family quilt, I'll hang over the shower rod to finish drying, repositioning frequently.

For ironing (top only), I iron on Cotton setting, with lots of steam & starch.

As for the crinkling, there are ways to reduce how much that happens, but anytime you get a quilt wet & then "de-wet" (whether tumble dried or air dried), the cotton will crinkle. It's a bit of work, but you can un-crinkle it by blocking it dry. You can either wet block or steam block. I prefer wet-blocking. It's easier & cheaper.

You can reduce how much it will crinkle by quilting farther apart & limiting curvy lines. For example, a 2" spaced crosshatch pattern will crinkle less than a 1.5" meander. You will also get very little crinkling if you add synthetic fibers or wool. These might include synthetic/wool batting, poly thread, interfacing (except Bosal 100% cotton), or even your fabrics.