Mine do not shrink very much, but I only wash in cool water in the machine and line dry, and never tumble dry.. I find the heat of the dryer makes them shrink...dryers are not so much in evidence over here, mainly used in winter or by Mums who work, the people I know both young and old mainly line dry.

I have purchased a whole bolt of bleached and unbleached muslin... it was ..."Premium, Pre-shrunk" and paid top $$. Guess what I cut 36 inches washed and ... 33 inches came out of the dryer.
So .. yes I preshrink ... I have even learned never to trust the label.
I have had fabric shrink right on the ironing board .. a little heat ... and some steam ... and a 3 inch cut was no longer a 3inch cut.... so I wash and dry.

Ain't that the truth!

I rarely prewash anything and have never had a problem. I tried using starch but the aerosol gets to me so that is out and I just prefer cutting material that is unwashed.

I'll bet even a quilt that shrinks some and looks funny will make somebody happy and keep them warm.

I like to pre-wash because I think the quilts tend to bunch up more when unwashed.

I prewash because of the chemicals in the fabric. I don't need anymore chemicals in my system. Bleeding and shrinking fabrics are secondary but one less thing to worry about.

I don't prewash because I love the crinkled look they get after washing. It's just my personal feelings. Some people don't like that look and they should prewash. Each of us have our own preferences.

I never used to pre wash my fabric until one time when I made placemats and some of the strips didnt shrink and some did. What a disaster. Now I wash before I use it in hopes that I dont have anything like that happen.

I agree. I like that wrinkled look, too. I wash them usually before I use them.