Well, I guess I'll "wade in" on this discussion. I DO prewash every piece of fabric BEFORE I add it to my stash. Reasons: (1) I have asthma, and it can get really bad. I don't like the coughing and struggling to breathe -- I use unscented shampoo, body lotions, etc. and I don't use any perfume or cologne -- I prefer to breathe and I don't like paying $40 for cough medicine ('cause it's not covered by insurance). (2) I've encountered far too many "bleeders" in fabrics, particularly reds, but also any brilliant color, so I test my fabrics for bleeding -- if the test is positive, I treat the fabric to "set" the dye, then wash, dry and press. (3) Shrinkage -- Cotton fabric will shrink some - so I wash not only the quilt top fabric, but also the backing. I generally use a very good polyester needle punch batting which can be quilted with quilting lines as much as 10 inches apart (I never quilt that loosely). (4) the chemicals used in fabric manufacturing can be very damaging -- my hands break out in a rash, and the finger tips split if I use unwashed fabric, so I stopped doing that years ago. The breathing issues and asthma are the primary reasons why I prewash -- asthma attacks can kill you, or at the very least cause you some real misery -- it's worth the effort to prewash. (5) The raveling for me is a non-issue -- I serge across the cut edges of the fabric before I load it in the washer -- it takes only a few seconds to 5 minutes generally and saves aggravation. I don't like the raveling and the tangles resulting from the raveling either. If you don't have a serger, zig-zag across the cut edges -- that will accomplish the same thing.