Originally Posted by
WMUTeach
Wow, never even considered "washing" Warm and Natural. I have used it for... at least 10 years and never knew I was doing it wrong. Tee-Hee-Hee I am a believer of if it's not broken, don't fix it. So, after 10 years of no washing, I choose to merrily use unwashed W & N batting.
Funny you would interpret not washing batting as "wrong". There is no right or wrong. Just like some of us prefer to prewash our fabric and others don't. It all boils down to what works best for you and what look you want for a quilt and what preparation steps you are willing to take to achieve those goals. It is a matter of choice, not right and wrong and certainly not a waste of time.
Many show quilters (of which Sue Garman was one) don't want their show quilt to change in appearance in any way whatsoever with washing (or wetting the quilt down for blocking) so they preshrink the batting (along with all of their fabrics) by washing and drying it. She even mentions in her blog she doesn't do this with utility quilts. Not right, not wrong, just a different approach. I have never prewashed batting either but I may in the future, depending on the quilt and it's ultimate use.
Labeling a different way of doing something as "wrong" or a "waste of time" even if you interpret the way you are doing it as "wrong" (tongue in cheek), is the stuff quilt police are made of.