Originally Posted by
Prism99
I agree with pre-washing for fabrics that age. Washing will get rid of any chemicals and tighten up the weave, plus you will know to toss if a fabric is going to fade a lot. The biggest problem with old fabrics is probably with the dyes. Loose weaves will either tighten up or remain awful after washing. Dyes may or may not be as colorfast as we expect today.
---ditto---
plus .... pre-washing can also sort out some of the less-desirable fabrics.
Sometimes what I thought was a really good fabric, seemed more cheesecloth-like after washing.
The pre-washing will get out the filler in the fabrics, and let you know what you really do have!