QuiltE

huh?
... the use of retayne has been discussed

sylviak

If you haven't prewashed and the quilt runs, don't panic....try soaking it in Oxyclean for several hours or overnight and it will usually come out and the colors stay bright. I have a friend who occasionally bring me a quilt top or blocks that she picks up at estate sales. She recently brought me the cutest Sunbonnet Sues which were appliqued and the stem of the flower she was holding was hand-embroideried in green. One of the blocks had some stains on it, so she washed it by hand. The green embroidery thread ran! She said to just put it in the corner where it wouldn't show much! I used an Oxyclean paste and a Q-Tip and was able to remove the stain. She didn't want the quilt washed before I gave it to her, so I pinned a couple of color catchers to the quilt with instructions to use it on the first wash.

I pre-wash most of my fabric, but I also use the hot water in the cup test if it is something I would rather not pre-wash before cutting. Occasionally patterns will actually tell you NOT to pre-wash...OBW, etc.

Bicycle Hobo

To make a long story short: I prewash everything made in a natural fibers before storing it away, and sometimes even do a double check (testing a small amount in a hot cup of soapy water,swishing it around, then blotting it on a piece of white cloth or paper towel) questionable fabrics like heavy over dyed reds, blues, or similar. Most of the time, in the garment industry production end, prewashing is not performed unless to get an washed effect like done on "prewashed" or "broken in" jeans. Their care labels reflect this by instructing to wash in cold water use a low machine drying temperature, line dry or dry clean. I don't want to risk not only shrinkage (I use 100% natural fabrics mostly), but also running dyes disasters during the first wash. All my quilts/blankets are intended to be utility ones-used and cleaned many times throughout their usable lifespans. I don't want to worry about anything after I construct the fabric and wash & dry them over and over again in either home or commercial washers/dryers on warmer side of the water/heat temperatures.