Helen S

I also agree with everyone else. I wouldn't go another step further without washing and drying your blocks.

NOTHING gets past my washing machine and dryer until it's washed and dried! I'm also careful when I iron, making sure not to push the iron on the diagonal, but keeping it in line with the grain when possible. It helps keep the fabric from stretching, and I no longer "iron", but rather "press" when my pieces are sewn together. It really does make a big difference in the finished block and requires much less trimming, if any at all.

Cyn

I really hate when that happens!

bearisgray

I've had Michael Miller black - which I purchased from a LQS - shrink over 2.5 inches in width.

I'm with your husband - soak those pieces in hot water - actually measure them before and after - just for kicks - roll them out in a towel to get rid of some of that water - and then dry them on a towel bar or drying rack.

I really can't tell - just by looking at a fabric - how it's going to behave. I've measured hundreds of fabrics before and after soaking them in hot water and washing them to see if there was any shrinkage. Some shrink not at all - including 'fabrics purchased at WalMart' - and I've had some noticeable shrinkage from fabrics purchased from all sources.

jaciqltznok

you can do it this way, BUT why if you don't have too? FIRST, do a color test by just dipping the end of each strip into HOT water....then rub on a white cloth...if NO color, then you should be safe to cut and sew THEN wash your quilt. Batiks, realy ones, generally do not shrink as they are boiled to remove the resist, paint, etc

carolaug

I finished recutting them last night, ironed them all with wetting them with mary ellen press...so taking the chance. when I FMQ it I will use a smaller stipple. If worst comes to worst my cats will get this quilt. (not that they want it...its the first time they have not rolled on my fabric - the blocks are all laid out on the floor and not of the cats have laid on them. That also is a first.) The fabric feel is yuky...not sure I really want to give this to my mother. Very disappointed in the fabric...colors are very pretty but the feel is very odd and the way it shrunk was really weird..at least I learned on materail that I did not pay 12.00 a yard on .

MaggieBB

Every peice of fabric that comes into my home is prewashed before it is used, not to check for shrinkage (although this matters with quilt fabric) but to make sure it is CLEAN, who knows where it has been (china, india, mexico) and whose hands it has been through. I have been sewing for over 50 years and still wash every thing! Maggiebb

ArtsyOne

I make my decision whether to prewash by what the finished piece will be used for. If it's for a baby quilt, then everything gets prewashed in hot water and dried in the dryer. I want to remove all chemicals first and foremost, and then I want to make sure that the quilt can be washed over and over without shrinking or colors bleeding. If the end use will be a wall hanging, then I'm okay with not prewashing because the likelihood that the hanging will get stained is pretty low. Placemats and table runners definitely get washed and dried, because they're going to be used.

JustAbitCrazy

I have done alot of prewashing by hand in a large white sink, and you'd be surprised how many fabrics bleed, both from quilt shops and big box stores. There isn't a color out there that I haven't witnessed bleed. The white sink and smaller amount of water, as compared to a full washing machine, really show up the bleeding. I use the hottest water I can get out of the tap and rinse until the water is clear or nearly so.

bearisgray

Me, too. When I use the sink, or other small container, I don't feel 'guilty' about using a lot of water. (We have a septic system, so what is used, does matter)

bearisgray

To paraphrase Dorene Speckman - if you don't like the fabric now, you probably won't like it 20 years from now

Sometimes it's better to just ditch the unliked/icky fabric, and replace it with something you do like. Is it really worth it to try to salvage X$ and mess up the rest of the project?