I sometimes do the Q-tip test. Wet a Q-tip with hot water and rub it over the fabric. If the tip discolors. then wash.

FQs can be rinsed in a bowl of water and wrung dry inside a bath towel. The final drying comes from the iron. Quick and easy.

I like your tips, Mad Quilter. I'll remember the Q tip test, and the bowl of water/ironing trick.

I pre-wash everything. I serge the cut edges first so there is no raveling. If a fabric is cut off grain or the color runs or it shrinks, I want that to happen before I use it. The serged edges are a sign for me to know that it has been prewashed when I throw the remaining fabric in the scrap box or back in my stash........depending on how much is left.

I very seldom pre-wash. Today's fabrics do not run like they did years ago. If I am using a dark color, I will do a test on it to make sure the color does not run.

I pre-wash by hand. That way I do every piece individually and if the colours run, they don't run onto anything else. I have found lots of colour bleeds from current fabrics. There is always shrinkage with cotton, so by pre-washing I am hoping to avoid too much puckering from later washings. I add enough puckers!!

I prewash too. My son sometimes says that the upstairs bathroom looks like a labratory with all of the little bowls set out.
lol,
lots2do

I hand wash fat quarters and then toss them in the dryer. Seems to work ok.

I must say that I wash everything, then it usually gets folded straight out of the dryer and I press just before using, though I have pieces bigger in my scrap bin than a FQ

I usually don't wash my fat quarters. Only when being used for a swap.

I prewash everything...by hand if its tiny. I just can't imagine putting hours of work into something and having one "renegade" fabric mucking it up.