Becoming a prewasher
11-25-2012, 05:13 AM
#21
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 1,231
I tend to wash my batiks, just to make sure they don't run...but then I have to pre-wash any other fabric that I put with them so the quilt will shrink uniformly...then I end up with some pre-washed and some not...
I take a paper punch, (the thing that punches a hole) and put holes up and down the selvage of what I wash..that way I can keep it all straight...otherwise I'd be washing some 3 times and other not all!
I take a paper punch, (the thing that punches a hole) and put holes up and down the selvage of what I wash..that way I can keep it all straight...otherwise I'd be washing some 3 times and other not all!
11-25-2012, 05:33 AM
#22
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Heart O'Texas
Posts: 83
Originally Posted by Somerset Val
I have always prewashed my fabrics but I don't do it when I buy them - only when I am going to use them. I overlock the raw edges before washing, starching and ironing them. This way, I know which fabrics have been prewashed, and which haven't - and it prevents a real mess of tangled threads in the washing machine and on the fabric!
11-25-2012, 06:17 AM
#23
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 17,693
Originally Posted by oksewglad
I began prewashing fabric as a carry over from my clothing construction days. Disappointing to sew something that doesn't fit after it's been washed. And I still do, but I wash on a quick cycles--could save you some time. I don't feel washing for longer period of time is going to benefit and the heat in the dryer will take care of the shrinking.
QE what's your opinion?
QE what's your opinion?
, that I am a confirmed hot water, hot dryer fabric abuser!And ... now commited to Colour Catchers as a check for any bleeding.
If so, then re-wash and/or retayne treatments!
Gets it all sorted out in the pre-sewing stage ... and avoid disappointment later.
I sure as heck don't want to do all that work and have my quilt end up a new colour and/or stained from bleeds!
11-25-2012, 07:27 AM
#24
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Illinois
Posts: 9,018
Originally Posted by judylg
I always washed everything I bought when I got it home. Somehow along the way I have stopped doing that, in favour of washing the colors I think might bleed. I normally cut a snip off the piece and put it in a glass of hot water and watch, then I decide if I need to wash.
11-25-2012, 08:32 AM
#25
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 421
Why not wait to wash your fabrics until after your move. If the fabric will be stored in a crate for months on a ship,it will probably be at the least musty smelling, so after you are settled in at your new home, then wash. Otherwise, if you wash everything now, you will have to do it again after the move.Just my thought. Good luck on your move!
11-25-2012, 08:35 AM
#26
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Ohio
Posts: 674
Personally ladies I salute you. I tried pre washing for a while and then color catchers came and I fell in love. If I had to pre wash I would never quilt again. I'm serious. As much as I love my quilting I would not go through that much work and end up with fabric that is not as nice. All the nice sizing is washed out, if you starch you draw bugs. That said, I only buy really good fabric. If you stick to the good brands Moda, Hoffman, Marcus Bros, etc, you won't get the shrinkage and the color catchers are super - I use 5-6 in a new quilt wash. I've not had a run or mismatched shrinkage.
That said if you are not comfortable with not washing, then do what you have to do to feel comfortable. I'd just rather sew than wash.
That said if you are not comfortable with not washing, then do what you have to do to feel comfortable. I'd just rather sew than wash.
11-25-2012, 09:37 AM
#28
Power Poster
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Lowell, MA
Posts: 14,083
I prefer washing my fabrics before using them, and not just the darker fabrics. We live in an apartment now, so I can't just go down to the basement to throw the fabric in the washer and dryer, so many times I wash the fabric in the sink. I am amazed when some of the lighter fabrics bleed and some of the darker fabrics don't, and then I'm very glad I have washed it - especially since many of the items I make are made to be sold or as gifts, and I would hate to have something I made come back with a dissatisfied customer. Not good PR. I cut the corners of the fabric with a small triangular cut, which not only lets me know if a fabric is washed or not, but it cuts down on the fraying when the fabric is washed - a tip I picked up somewhere along the line.
11-25-2012, 09:44 AM
#29
Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 84
if the fabric i buy is stiff and or overly wrinkled or of a low quality cotton i will serge the cut ends of the yardage and put the piece through a quick wash and rinse then hang on clothesline or dryer rack to dry to the barely damp stage. then i use a dry iron and press. also if it is a color i am afraid of bleeding i will also use one of those color magnet thingies in the wash water-they work great!
11-25-2012, 11:02 AM
#30
Super Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,391
I have washed sometimes and not other times. I got a load, I mean LOAD of fabric about 10 or so years ago, from someone who didn't want it anymore. (I never met the person, the fabric came through a third party.) I could tell which were washed as the ends were terribly frayed. She must have washed with an agitator washer for 15 minutes.LOL
Sometimes I wash and sometimes I don't, and have never noticed the difference in the finished quilts. My thought is: this fabric has a nice sizing on it which makes it very easy to cut with our rotary cutter and is easy to sew because it is a little stiff. Then we wash it and it gets limp, so we have to starch it so it is easier to cut and sew. ? ? ? Does that make sense?
Sometimes I wash and sometimes I don't, and have never noticed the difference in the finished quilts. My thought is: this fabric has a nice sizing on it which makes it very easy to cut with our rotary cutter and is easy to sew because it is a little stiff. Then we wash it and it gets limp, so we have to starch it so it is easier to cut and sew. ? ? ? Does that make sense?
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