it's not the starch that shrinks the fabric. heat and moisture combine to shrink fibers. cold water alone will not shrink cotton until you add heat from an iron or the dryer or any other source.

I have so many fabrics that bleed, I am afraid not to prewash....it seems you get more bleeding with quilt shop fabrics than others too. So many opinions, hard to know the right thing to do.

Actually, it really was just the wetness. The color and design of the fabric was such that I literally watched it shrivel right before my eyes before I even got the heat near it.