QuiltE

aaaaaaaaaaah the old question resurfaces .... why wash in hot and dry on hot?


For me ....... the answer is ..... I abuse it as much as I can up front.
I know the shrinkage is dealt with.
I use the Colour Collectors to know the bleed status ... and re-wash or treat with retayne until that is under control.

Yes, abuse ... however, a far better feeling, knowing that I have done so, and minimize disaster AFTER I make a quilt.

I sure as H**** do NOT want to put all the work into a quilt, and then have it ruined when it is accidentally washed in hot water ......... or one fabric shrinks more/less than the other ......... or someone forgets to toss in a Colour Collector ............

That, Ladies and Gents, is why QuiltE pre-washes in HOT water ... and probably why many others do too!

alisonquilts

Thank you all for your sympathy! I always have a "Plan B" for the backing - this time it will be a pieced back!

On the hot/hot issue: I prewash all my fabrics this way to rule out any potential color loss or shrinkage problems - especially when the final product is for a paying customer. And yes, I go for maximum shrinkage intentionally. In this case the fabric is dark red, and has what feels like a pretty normal density for a backing fabric - not as tight as you'd expect for "top" material, but closer weave than basic muslin. Since I cannot control what the recipients do with the quilts I make (even though I always give care instructions stressing cold wash and line dry) I try to make them as bullet-proof as possible before I hand them over! Usually shrinkage is in the 1-3% range, with perhaps a little distortion to the lie of the fabric.

I have NEVER had shrinkage like this, even with flannel, and since I "pretreat" all of my fabrics the same way I feel this is (fortunately) an outlier.

I won't contact Henry Glass because I am not expecting to be compensated: I am sure that their care instructions do indeed say "cold wash, low temp dry by blowing gently across the fabric with slightly puckered lips on a warm summer day", and that my kamikaze approach contravenes all of their instructions. Also, almost all of the sites I come across do say that "up to 10% shrinkage" is possible - I've just never had it happen before! I was posting more to show that that "up to 10% shrinkage" is a real possibility...something all the non-prewashers may want to know (she says, stirring up the wash/not-wash controversy yet again.)

Alison-Recovered-From-Her-Dismay-And-Embracing-The-Idea-Of-A-Pieced-Back

Edit - I see that Quilt E has just made many of the same points I have - sorry for the repeats!

petthefabric

Alisonquilts and QuiltE
I agree. After I've put in $ and hours making a quilt, I don't want any surprises. So I prewash, usually on warm wash & normal dry, everything before it's put into my studio. I even like to get fabrics like dark blue that might bleed (into my faded jeans). or red into my faded red cloths.

TanyaL

Considering all the information on the news this fall and winter concerning the epidemic of bedbugs, I think that having all of your bedding washed and dried in hot temperatures is just plain good health sense. Thank you for the heads up on this fabric. Do you remember when the news stated that bedbugs could be spread by the usage of the vacuum cleaners by maids? They warned everyone to have their housecleaning services to not bring the vacuums into the house, use only the ones provided by the houseowners. And forget about traveling and bringing them home attached to your suitcases.

petthefabric

I also meant to say, maybe the manufacturer didn't realize the amount of shrinkage and needs a heads up. I've always thought Henry Glass was a reputable manufacturer, but after this comment my opinion has dropped several notches. I'd think Henry Glass would like to maintain their reputation and would like the opportunity to look into this issue.

alisonquilts

That is a very good point - I think I will contact them for that reason. They truly may not be aware of this issue, or it may only apply to a specific run of fabric. I have never had any issues with other Henry Glass fabrics.

Alison

mucky

You would not wash your quilt in hot water so why the backing? Do you wash all your fabric in hot water?

Drue

Why would you ever wash anything in HOT? I NEVER wash anything in HOT! Not even socks and underware!

ghostrider

Come on. Isn't it enough that we constantly 'debate' whether or not to prewash fabric, now we're jumping on each other for washing in hot water?? And yes, I wash fabric, quilts, socks, and underwear in hot water...but not together, except for the socks and underwear. Guess I missed the memo that said it was forbidden.

MTS

I don't prewash fabrics but the quilts get washed the same as the sheets and towels - everything is washed in hot water.
And even on the very, very rare occasion that I did prewash something, it just gets tossed in with the current load - I wouldn't think twice about using hot water.

@alisonqults - Normally I wouldn't care about the shrinkage (makes me laugh) but I can totally understand the frustration since you bought it specifically for that size and purpose.