Before cutting fabric
 

I soak and wash -

but at the very minimum - unfold it and check for:

printing errors

grain lines - see if it has been pulled out of line

holes, tears - occasionally a "good" piece of fabric has them - I just ironed a piece that had small squares punched out at regular intervals - I never noticed them until I was refolding the fabric

fade line along the fold -

slubs -

I usually find/notice these things when ironing the back/wrong side of the fabric. They seem more noticeable from the back - except for the fade line along a fold.

I have found these problems even with/from LQS fabric.

I "should" look for these things before I wash them. I usually don't - and find them later after washing them.

The reasons for this post: II have purchased fabric or have cut out things before "inspecting" the fabric and then found glitches while pressing or sewing.

Examples:

I had cut out a pillowcase - the previous five were "fine" - but this one had a printing error right smack dab in the middle of it.

A fabric on sale was marked down - I did not unfold it - but it did have a fade line at the crease. (Those do not press out!)

A fabric had a cut at the fold line - probably caused while the shipment was being opened or the plastic wrapper being removed from the bolt.

Once in a while there is a stain - looks like oil or something.

I don't always get around to washing or ironing "right away" - so I probably don't take the item back right away.

If I still have the sales slip and this happened within a month or two after purchasing the item, I will probably fuss about it.

Thanks for the reminder. I typically don't check the fabric. It is ruler folded and stored on a closet shelf so it does get some handling before cutting. So far, no issues with any of them as you have mentioned.

I haven't had any of those problems.

I look while it's being cut but that's about all.

I am with Jingle. I never had these problems.

I guess I’ve been lucky so far not to have had any of those experiences but I will certainly keep my eyes open when I go to purchase new fabric.

I have found small areas on some of my most expensive fabrics but was able to cut around them. I always check and if I found a bad one would take it back even though I always wash my fabric first.