Originally Posted by MissQuilter
I wash yardage, but I have been told that when you get really good fabric at the LQS it does not really need to be washed. I have done it in the past with fat quarters and they were all so raveled up that they were hard to use. Any thoughts on this?
I think every quilter has her own preference. For quilting I'm a fabric snob and buy the best quality I can and almost always from a quilt store rather than a chain store. For that reason, I almost never prewash anything for quilting, even yardage, because I trust that it won't shrink an unusual amount, because I like the slightly crinkled/older look I get when I wash the quilt for the first time after it's finished, and, and, and....If I am given a fabric to use and I'm not sure where it came from, I wash not only that fabric, but every fabric that will go into the project with that fabric - that way all shrinkage, no matter how minimal, will occur before I cut and piece and there will be no unevenness in the final product due to one piece shrinking and another not.
If I plan to embellish my quilt with paint, dyes, or fused on (but not sewn) appliques, I prewash, since these techniques "take" better when the sizing has been washed out of the fabric.
I know that a lot of quilters love to wash then starch, and that again is a personal preference - I don't understand why I need to wash out the manufacturer sizing/starch then restarch...seems like extra work to me.
My advice? Whatever you do, be consistent in a single project...if one or two fabrics are pre-washed, then pre-wash all of them so you can keep a consistent look in the project