Jeanette Frantz

I prewash everything, every single piece of fabric. Like bear said, there are bleeders in every color in the rainbow. I found a product which "sets" the dye in every color in the rainbow. While I don't make large numbers of quilts, it is all the more important that the ones I do make do not end up bleeding all over themselves and anything else that it might come in contact with. First, I "test" every colored fabric, no matter -- from the deepest reds all the way to the deepest browns and blacks. I live on a tight budget, so I can't afford to have a quilt ruined or throw fabric in the trash. That being said, I don't sell quilts - I make them with love for various family members. I have had a lot of success with this product -- not one single fabric I've treated has ever again been guilty of bleeding. I won't mention the name of the product -- I don't want to be a walking commercial for the product. I have no financial interest or any interest of any kind. The product was, I gather (I could be wrong) intended to set the dyes on hand-painted fabrics. I used it to set the dyes in the red and while log cabin which is pictured in my avatar. I re-tested every piece of fabric in it for color-fastness of the various shades of red, and not a one of them exhibited any further bleeding. The primary reason I prewash all my fabrics is due to asthma that has become a thorn in my backside in my later years. But, since I have to pre-wash and treat the reds and other colors, I prewash the whites as well, separate from any other colors. I'll be glad to provide any of you interested in the name of the product if you will send me a pm. Just know I'm not selling this product, I'm a user, and I won't make a quilt without testing the fabrics for color-fastness. Also, discretion is the better part of valor. I ALWAYS use color catchers in the wash with my quilts.

Edit: I do not buy quilt kits, or any pre-cut fabrics, so that's another issue for which I don't have an answer, except that I do not buy them for that reason.

bearisgray

I make quilts that go to people that may or may not know "the correct way to wash a quilt."

Therefore, I try to have fabrics that can just be "thrown" in the washer with ordinary detergent and be treated like "ordinary" laundry.

Of course, I would prefer that the people use care (and good sense) when they wash their quilt - but when one has a baby that is throwing up or suffering from diarrhea - "proper laundry methods" probably are not the most important thing on the caretaker's list. Just get the thing washed and the icky stuff off it!

The only things I really worry about - as far as the quilts I've sent on their way - are bleach, burns, and rips.

Even with washed fabrics - letting a wet quilt "set" in a was is asking for trouble!

LianneK

The biggest "bleeders" I've ever come across have been dark blues, not reds. I just soak in warm water, then dry on clothesline, then iron.

Ikesgram

I wash all fabrics before cutting them. I cannot wash precuts but I use steam for pressing . I never was allergic to
anything until my fifties when I developed asthma and began a long battle to find the triggers for it. There are quite
a few and one is FABRIC in the LQS. Washing every thing helps to keep me from wheezing when I go shopping for
fabric or clothing or when I am cutting or piecing.

None of my four children had allergies when young but each one has some problems as they pass through their
forties into early fifties. All test positive for unwashed fabrics in clothing and bedding.

Therefore I wash !!

crafty pat

I always wash as soon as I can after getting it home. The order alone gets to me. Also as a young just getting started sewer I had a very heart breaking shrinking and bleeding problem that taught me better be safe than sorry.

IAmCatOwned

Do whatever you want, but just do it consistently. Having half your stash washed and the other half unwashed will result in problems when you forget whether washed or not.

I don't prewash unless I'm making swap stuff. The only disaster I ever had was from red flannel that WAS prewashed and two Jenny Beyer fabrics from her very early lines. I still use the quilt despite its stains on the front. Not a big deal to me, but not giftable.

ube quilting

I wash everything that comes in the house. I spend so many hours in design, effort, time and money to have a quilt not play nice after the fact. Frayed, bleeding, wrinkled, washed out and shrinking fabric is not what I want to play with and knowing how a fabric acts before I want to use it is the smart way to be sure of what I am using.

Washing a load of fabric is way too simple a thing not to do. It keeps me happy.
peace