to wash or not to wash
 

there have been quite a few threads on here & other forums i read regarding whether or not to prewash fabrics for a project. also threads regarding whether or not to prewash precuts for a project. i read all of the comments ..regardless of my personal thoughts, someone might have a suggestion or reason that makes enough sense to sway my reasons from yes to no. i prewash everything. even small scraps. i just finished a quilt top & because of exacerbation of longterm health issue i changed my routine (to reduce time standing & sitting) & didn't prewash my precuts & fat quarters. square-in-square blocks of four per unit. then did the wash of blocks & pressed. ooops! never do that again! the amount of shrinkage of the various fabrics was amazing. today in my morining web wandering reads i found this site via another site. excellent article re: why prewash good idea. i was taught to do it when i learned to quilt in the 80's. because of color fade. i do it because of fading, remove chemicals & now shrinkage too. and i always wash my precuts in the manner in which she describes.
to wash or not to wash ..decision our choice, but info from someone who has done research/testing is nice to have also.

https://susies-scraps.com/2015/04/26...-the-question/

https://susies-scraps.com/2015/12/07...your-pre-cuts/

Do you mean you washed the individual blocks before you completed the quilt? If so, I can imagine that wouldn't turn out so well. I think even washing a completed top before quilting it would be tricky. I don't mean to sound like "quilt police" by any means. I believe we should do what works for us, but to me, individual blocks can be kind of fragile. We can even stretch them out of shape by ironing too vigorously. So I prewash some fabrics and some I don't. I have never prewashed precuts, have combined prewashed and not washed, but I do wash completed quilts with color catchers without problems. I can sure understand why you didn't feel up to prewashing and ironing, etc. So my advice would be to just finish your quilt and then wash and I think it will work for you. Quilting will keep it from shrinking unevenly.

I don't pre-wash my fabrics, I use plenty of starch and have never had a problem, although I do pre-wash any cotton fabrics that will be used as clothing.

I don't pre-wash, but I read all the reasons for pre-washing so I do feel guilty. No reasons for not pre-washing. Silly, I guess.

I am not convinced. I do pre-test darker colors. I don't have sensitivities to chemicals. I have been quilting for 14 years and haven't had a problem yet. But the beauty of this hobby is thateveryone gets to do what they want and what works best for them.

number one ..I don't iron ..i 'press'. i've done the wash the whole pieced block of scraps in past w colorcatchers and it worked out very well. but they were 20 patch blocks of squares. like the person in this blog, my 'washing' is more ..get wet, swish around by hand ..spin dry on delicate ..i differ from her in that i don't have an outside line for drying ..it would be blown into the next state if i did ..i dryer finish for few minutes, press and all is good. minimal shredding of threads and shrinkage. but the points were difficult to make work after washing/drying sq-in-sq blocks. enough shrinkage in some of the older scraps, tho nice hand ans and apparently 'nice' fabric, difficult to make four block units work correctly. i cheated a lot. couple of years ago during a row by row exchange w online friends & i did measure a particularly lovely vintage fabric scrap before washing it --it shrank about 3/8" ..i was so surprised by that amount, and glad i prewashed it. if posting pics on board fr my ipad weren't so difficult, i'd post some of the finished four block units to show how wel they finally turned out. most points turned out perfectly. i have degenerative spinal disease -advanced. have had for ~50 yrs. it's now pretty bad. i have always, always prewashed my precuts and scraps and, of course, the yardages. the chemicals used in making fabric, then the chemicals used in sizing to protect the fabric from our grubby hands i the fabric stores makes me have to prewash ...whether for quilts or making clothes for myself and my son. but this time, after enduring a particularly bad spell for the last 12 months ..i took the least painful route. ergo, i found this bloggers post interesting and no more shortcuts for me in future, regardless the pain.

agree whole heartedly ..no ill effects ..no harm ..go for it. i, tho, do feel the effects of the chemicals.

my thoughts exactly! Pre test, not prewash, if suspecting a bleeder. Unless, of course due to allergies,
...but do those allergies also react to new clothing, linens?
As far as washing individual blocks....why? I'm thinking, unless all the fabrics in that block (s) are from the same mfg, you might get uneven shrinkage and distortion due to the basic weave of the base fabric.
Doesn't thread have chemicals involved in its production?

I read all the prewashing, washing after completion of the quilt...in HOT water........to remove chemicals, handling.........my question....do you also do the same to,all things purchased that are washable - hard things and soft things? Most detergents nowadays are formulated to clean in warm and cold water-I guess a conservation thing....I really cannot remember the last time I washed anything in hot water.....oh, and I do not wash my just completed quilts either. Gifted ones have washing instructions included. My own are washed when needed.......as other washable are in house.......don't mean to offend anyone, just thinking out loud to a group of people whom I enjoy being with and sharing ideas........

I used to prewash, but no longer. I test some fabric and use a color thingy in the wash, but that’s it.