bearisgray

yes - including small scraps that i have acquired.

i have had a few unpleasant surprises and - for me - it' s very much worth the extra effort of soaking and washing the fabrics before cutting them.

bearisgray

if a large piece of fabric has "issues" - it seems to me that small pieces of that same piece of fabric would have the same "issues".

joe'smom

They pick up any excess dye that might be in the water from bleeding fabrics.

I wash all fabric before using. Smaller pieces get dunked by hand, spun in a garment bag and hung to dry.

Fabric shrinks unevenly, much more along the width than along the length. I want any shrinking to take place before I stitch the fabric into a quilt.

Wanabee Quiltin

I cut off a small piece and soak it, lay it on a paper towel to see if it bleeds. I hate washing fabric. I use color catchers also with my quilts.

Macybaby

I prewash everything except jelly rolls (which I rarely buy) and it gets washed before it makes it upstairs to my stash. I make 30-40 quilts a year, and don't like working with unwashed fabric. I recently bought a new washer and dryer - the washer has no central agitator. I looked in that large open space and fell in love lol! Right now I have a bolt (15 yards ) of beige sitting on my dryer waiting to be washed.

About the largest I wash at a time is 7 yards of 105" backing. I usually have to take it out of the dryer several times to unroll it so it dries evenly. I find the backing shrinks quite a bit, but it also relaxes and evens out so it loads on the LA much easier.

Mariposa

I do this as well. ~

oksewglad

I've been an avid prewasher as well...it's a throwback from garment sewing days. Like bearisgray says, I don't like unpleasant surprises either! Really dismayed when a prewashed fabric bleeds during pressing with steam...that has happened to me with a fine quality fabric.

Caroline94535

Yes!

I enter my house through the mud room/laundry area. All new fabrics go in the washer immediately. They are washed, dried, pressed if necessary, folded, and then put in the sewing room.

This saves mevfrom stress and worry. I know everything in the fabrics area is ready to go.

Garden Gnome

The only fabric I prewash is flannel. Not precuts.

dunster

I prewash everything except jelly rolls, layer cakes, and charm squares. Although I almost never buy those, I've still accumulated a few. I also wash any scraps that I'm given. I prefer to have the shrinkage and any bleeding done before I start using the fabric. I also want any chemicals used during manufacturing removed before I handle the fabric. I usually press the fabric after washing.