Aurgh...I will never not prewash again...
05-29-2012, 06:41 AM
#32
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: AZ and CT
Posts: 4,898
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.
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.
05-29-2012, 06:41 AM
#33
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Vancouver, Wa.
Posts: 148
I, for one, cannot believe that so many of you on this board, do not pre-wash. The first thing I was taught was to pre-wash any fabric that I bought when I brought it into the house. We have no guarantee's on ANY fabric we buy and the safest way is to pre-wash. That way I never have any surprise's like yours. I am so sorry for you. What a nasty way to learn that lesson. Good luck to you.
Judy
Judy
05-29-2012, 06:42 AM
#34
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: AZ and CT
Posts: 4,898
I have that the no pre-wash advice often comes from designers and shop owners who have no intention to wash a quilt. They are making them for wall quilts or show quilts and not for using them. They say that you don't have to wash the fabrics but I always prewash. I want my quilts to be loved and used not hung on the wall or displayed only. Even the good batiks have some color loss when washed....not every one but it only takes one in a quilt to fade t ruin a quilt. Choose your threads wisely as well. I have a quilt that was quillting maybe ten years ago by a professional and the thread (multi-colored) used ran in areas. I have no idea what brand was used. I hope the thread are much improved now.
05-29-2012, 07:08 AM
#36
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Spokane, Washington
Posts: 344
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.
05-29-2012, 08:52 AM
#38
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 448
I prewash and dry everything! Even jelly rolls as in my front loaders the handwash cycle is so gentle they hardly fray.
I think fabric grain gets distorted as it is rolled out in the factory...must come out slightly damp or the first rolling really stretches the fabric. The distortion can be extreme, which is why we used to cut fabric by pulling a single thread and cutting along that line, which gives you the true grain of fabric.
I think fabric grain gets distorted as it is rolled out in the factory...must come out slightly damp or the first rolling really stretches the fabric. The distortion can be extreme, which is why we used to cut fabric by pulling a single thread and cutting along that line, which gives you the true grain of fabric.
05-29-2012, 11:04 AM
#40
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Michigan/Florida
Posts: 203
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
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