I never wash my fabric - but I do that because I use cotton batting and I quilt my own quilts and because I am not a perfect quilter and I want my quilts to look very old. So, I do not wash my fabric I use syphol which is use for dying fabrics and it keep colors from running into other colors on the quilt when you wash the quilt. I also test a fabric if there is a concern it will run... it is a matter of opinion if you want to wash fabric or not and I read if you spray starch on the fabric when ironing it before cutting it, it helps brings the body back into the fabric.