You've got a lot of good ideas to think about here. I dip a lot of my just-bought fabrics in hot water and put them on a metalic rack/dryer in the bath tub, let them drip dry. On a good smart day I'll spray starch them right on the rack/dryer.
If I've found a fabric I need that isn't a nice as I'd like I'll cut it out with a layer (pre-washed, dried, and maybe even sprayed with starch) of muslin as a liner. I wouldn't have thought of that on my own but a woman with three boys lined the knees of her boys' jeans as soon as she got them bought, washed, and dried. She said it made the knees last longer. Seems to do the same for thin fabric.
Jois