Stitchnripper

I don’t prewash. I wait til the quilt is done and then wash it. I don’t have any chemical sensitivities or allergies and have never had an adverse reaction to the scent or touch of new fabrics. If I suspect a bleeder I cut a small piece off and test it in very hot water. I also don’t have a stash except for some fat quarters I won and lots of scraps. So nothing lying around outgassing. So far after 16 years of quilting I haven’t had a problem.

this question comes up now and then. Like starch. I don’t think there is one answer or a right answer. Just what works for each of us.

entangled

As an avid upcycler and thrifter, I'm also Team Prewash. I don't wash precuts -- I don't buy them much either. I also don't overcast edges. I just put an audiobook, grab scissors to trim strings, turn on my iron, and make a pile of pretty new-to-me fabric.

pocoellie

I don't prewash, unless I'm making clothing of some kind.

Anniedeb

I'm in the prewash camp also. I find that I don't tolerate the chemicals, or frankly the smell of unwashed fabric. I also want to see the actual color of the fabric that I'll be using. Twice, after washing a royal blue piece several times, the color was significantly lighter than the color I was going for. I do wash the quilt again, after it is done. I would hate to have something bleed onto a surrounding piece, and not be able to get it out. Too much time and effort for me to risk it.

aashley333

Since I use 100% cotton, I want to prewash to shrink before cutting. I usually wait until I need to use it before washing and ironing. New fabric comes so crisp that it is tempting to cut without washing, but I'm afraid the quilt would shrink after finishing and pucker.

maminstl

I only prewash if I feel a reason to. If I am making clothing, always, but for a quilt I only wash it if it comes from a thrift shop (only sheets, as in my area nothing else is out there) Once in a while a fabric will be stiff enough that I want to see what it is without all the sizing. I don't care about shrinkage, because my batting is going to shrink anyway - and that's what I want it to do. I have had only one fabric that bled in about a dozen years of quilting, so I take my chances.

ckcowl

I prewash when I need to-
if fabric smells funky, feels funky, might be a bleeder ( failed the test) or if it has deep creases from being wrapped on the bolt ( all my wide backing fabrics get prewashed because it is much easier to get rid of the wrinkles instead of trying to iron that much fabric

oksewglad

The only thing I don't prewash are panels, which I rarely buy...Precuts are not on my shopping lists, either. When fabric comes home it goes to the laundry room and often gets washed with other light laundry items. Then I know everything has been washed. I hate "bleeding" surprises and yes I have had them when using scraps from others.

Railroadersbrat

I usually don't prewash my background fabric, mostly because I use Muslin and whatever shrinking that happens is so negligible that I'm not worried it's going to distort the quilt.

Everything else (unless it's a jelly roll or charm pack), however, does get prewashed and I only hand wash unless it's bigger than two yards, then I machine wash.

Every quilt I've ever made, I always send out a "how to care for" sheet of instructions for the recipient to follow and whenever it comes time for them to wash it the first time, I always go over and help them. I don't want them to freak out if they wash their quilt and pull it out of the washer to find the colors have bled, if I'm there to help them, we can quickly solve the issue. I also send a small 'care package' with the quilt, small bottle of laundry soap that I know won't damage the quilt and some color catching sheets. I try to cut any bleeding off at the pass the best I can and give them as much information as I can so they can rest easy knowing they're doing things the right way. We put so much work into our quilts that I feel if we give them the right information to care for them, they'll last much, much longer and eventually become an heirloom.

bkay

I pre-wash to keep the shrinkage to a minimum. I also wash my batting. I don't care for the crinkled look and try to avoid it as much as I can.

bkay