newbee3

no I do not wash

TAMARATJO

I prewash all fabric, but not pre-cuts. As soon as I get the fabric, it goes into the washing machine, gets ironed, folded an put in a plastic storage bin. I like to have my fabric ready to go. I often "play" with my fabric. Laying out color families, or collections to review with quilt patterns I want to make.

meyert

I used to prewash everything.. now I have gotten away from that. If I buy good fabric I don't prewash - - - even with reds I don't think I would if I knew it was good fabric. I would definitely use color catchers when I was the final product though

SillySusan

I don't pre-wash, but I do feel guilty. I really think I should.

Cari-in-Oly

I only pre wash flannel.

Cari

cashs_mom

I've pre-washed and not pre-washed. I'm at the point where I rarely pre-wash anymore. I seem to have the same results either way so I just don't bother to do the extra step.

Jordan

I always pre-wash my fabrics. I come into the house from the garage and the laundry room is right there so I can stop and put fabrics with like colors in the washer.

Prism99

I used to prewash. Now I don't, for the most part. If I suspect a fabric might bleed, I test it. There are a few exceptions. Flannel can shrink so much, I do prewash flannel. I also prewash any fabric I intend to use for a bias binding, as shrinkage in a bias binding can ruin the edge. Because of bearisgray's observations about Michael Miller black, I also will prewash that specific fabric.

In my experience, fabric shrinkage is not an issue for quilts. This is because, once quilted to batting, the batting will prevent fabric from shrinking more than the batting shrinks (assuming a reasonable amount of quilting, such as 4" apart; if quilting is 10" apart, fabric can shrink more than the batting). If I want a smooth modern type quilt finish, without the "wrinkly" effect that comes from shrinkage, I use a polyester batting.

I have only rarely encountered a heavy bleeder fabric in twenty years of quilting. I more frequently find a few fabrics that will release a little dye in the first wash. This is because the manufacturer skimped on the rinsing, so there is excess dye (more dye than the fabric has been able to absorb) left in the fabric. To ensure these small bleeds do not color my finished quilt, I always wash the quilt for the first time with Synthrapol in a washing machine that uses a *lot* of water (in my case, a large front-loader at the laundromat). Water dilutes a dye bleed, and Synthrapol keeps the loose dye particles suspended in the water so they do not have a chance to settle in and color other fabrics.

This works for me.

Irishrose2

I wash everything, even the precuts. No chemicals, bugs, rodents, color transfer or shrinkage wanted in my sewing room. I recently almost broke my rule. I needed a small amount of fabric to finish a binding. As a started to cut, I realized the washed piece was a full inch narrower than the unwashed one, so into the washer it went. Not flimsy fabric - Timeless Treasures Fantasia. Bugs? Last week I opened a sealed package of fleece purchased online. In it was the carcass of an ugly black bug.

KarenK

I prefer working with clean fabric, therefore, I wash everything so shrinkage, bleeding and chemicals are dealt with up front. I have no idea what processing methods were used or where the fabric has traveled before I bought it.