Normally I don't wash my fabric before or after. But I'm making a special order quilt for someone. What do you all do.

If you wash it, do you then starch it before cutting?

I always wash my fabric. I also "wash" the batting. I want them to pre-shrink before I sew because I don't like the wrinkly look. I have even "washed" the quilt top before quilting if I used pre-cuts such as jelly rolls. I just put them in the water, spin dry on slow, then put into the dryer with a bath towel. It takes some careful ironing to get the seams to lay flat, but I think it is worth it.

Yes - I want it to shrink & relax before I cut.

No. Only flannel fabrics.

when i feel the finished product will be washed then i wash everything before i cut and piece the project.

if i feel the finished product will never be washed i do not wash the fabric before hand.

i also use tons of hand dyed fabric in my work so by the time the fabric is ready to be used in a product it has been in water numerous times during the dyeing process so any shrinkage has already occurred and the fabric has been treated so that it will never bleed.

I wash and dry all my fabric before it goes into my stash. I starch occasionally, depends on the pattern.

I prefer to know if my fabric is a bleeder before putting it in the quilt. I also prefer working with washed fabs. Never know what the fabric picks up between manufacturer and point of retail sale. Have read some real horror stories here but I always washed before anyway. Even before reading about bug eggs, insecticides and other harsh chemicals.

Wash all my fabrics...I can't stand the pesticides/insecticides that are sprayed on them in the warehouses, so if I want to breathe, I wash. I don't iron them until I am going to use them, then I do starch them.

Had a friend make a lovely quilt, hand quilt it, then wash it (no color catchers) and her turquoise bled on the white fabric and ruined the quilt. Too many hours invested in a quilt to risk that, even with color catchers.

I do wash them - then before I cut them I iron lightly then starch. I have found that lightly ironing before applying starch allows the starch to be better absorbed into the fabric.

oops - hit send 2x!

I don't usually wash, I like the "wrinkley" look as I like to do traditional designs and I feel like they look older than they are. I only wash the fabric if when I pick it up it feels like it would bleed or is stiff. Gentle cycle cold always. I only usually iron if it's really wrinkley too. I don't have enough time to worry about washing and ironing fabric before cutting. and as most are scrappy, I don't think it really matters much anyway

Yes. I wash, dry and starch the whole piece before i start cutting. BTW, I have an Accucut Studio and still starch everything. Makes cutting and piecing so much easier.

I've started washing every single piece in my stash. I started doing to because once I came up with an idea, I would pick out the fabric, wash it, line dry (we don't have a dryer) then iron. By the time it was all done, I had moved on to somethingelse. This way I can just grab fabric from my stash, give it a quick pressing and on with my quilt project.

Now every new piece of fabric coming through the door is washed before it makes to to the sewing room.

You are going to get as many different answers as there are people. I myself do not prewash any of my fabric. I have never had any problems with mine. I also like the crinkly look kinda old fashioned look of the fabric. I have never had any problems with running of dies either. But sometimes you can tell by the way the fabric feels. I have never starched fabric either. But that is just me.

Sibyl

I always wash it when I bring it home, before I add it to my stash. I don't want to worry about bleeding, and then I know that it's all the same, not some washed and others not.

NOPE- NADA -NEVER

Very True...


I like the feel of washed fabric better - so I aways wash mine.

No, I do not prewash my fabric.

I always wash and iron before cutting. I like starched fabric, too, but I cannot buy the blue liquid starch around here any more and when I use the spray starch, I get overspray on everything and I hate it, so I use unstarched fabric - so far, so good though.

Well this sure was an interestng poll! lol

Thanks for all your input

Yes!

Wash - usually. Starch - generally not.

I have a "Why you should prewas fabrics" story. I made curtains for my sewing room - just basic rectangles and I lined them with muslin. All the fabric came from my stash. I was so proud of myself that the pattern lined up and everything, and then I washed them...... Well, the lining shrank at a different rate than the main fabric and suddenly my curtain looked like it wore a slip that was too long.

99% of the time I don't wash or starch. I do wash and dry flannel though. If you put this topic into the search function you will see many different opinions on the topic.

I wash most of my fabric before using and then i do spray starch before cutting and sewing. If the pattern calls for the fabric not to be washed then I don't or if its a precut kit I don't wash..

I always pre-wash for many reasons: to remove the formaldehyde and other chemicals, to pre-shrink it, to get rid of loose dyes (runners are rewashed with Retayne), so it's ready for fusibles, and to tighten the weave. I never starch, ever.

only wash batiks that i suspect will bleed and any other that might. just in case. otherwise i don't worry about it. just starch and go.

I use to not wash first but then I was with my aunt once and she does wash first. Luckily she did on one of the fabrics she got from Wal Mart cause the print faded so bad in the middle she ended with a white streak there so now I wash first.

absolutely wash in the hottest water to pre-shrink it and to get rid of the first bleed if it's going to do so.

I RINSE it in HOT, HOT water to see if it bleeds and get any shrinkage taken care of, wring it out and hang it to dry to see how it wrinkles. Then iron, starch, cut and sew. If it doesn't wrinkle and the pattern is appropriate it may go into clothes not quilts.

Yep! I always wash and dry my fabrics! Don't like the fumes, chemicals, etc.
I don't iron until I need the fabric, then spray with a bit of sizing.

I always prewash. First to get rid of all the chemicals. The fumes of the chemicals when unwashed fabric is pressed has made me sick. I don't want my sewing room full of formaldehyde and insecticides. Secondly, I found that I really like working with washed fabrics. After washing it is very easy to straighten the grain with the sizing gone. My fabric cuts easier and my rotary cutter does not dull as fast.

I do starch a little before I cut my fabric, but I do not store it with starch.

Always wash, as soon as it comes in the door.

YES...and if this is a custom order I would definitely wash it..then when you iron it you can decide if you need to starch it or not. Quality fabric with a nice heavy hand normally does not need to be starched..FLannel always does!

THANK YOU.....I thought I was the only one left on the planet to do this...Kudos to you!

Yes, and I use best press to put a little stiffness back in when I iron the piece right before I cut.

I worked in a linen and domestics store - like Bed, Bath and Beyond - only a loooong time before they became a household name. Anyway, ever since I worked in the warehouse one winter and saw how stuff comes into the warehouse, fresh off the boat, to be distributed to the stores, I wash everything cloth that comes into my house within an hour of it coming in. If I can't get it washed immediately, the items remain in the bags and the bags placed inside another sealed bag. It doesn't matter if it is clothing, yardage or a pair of socks.

So, in answer to your question - yes. I wash before I cut and sew.

I personally don't wash before cutting(usually), although I did use to but decided I liked working with the fabric better when not washed. I starch before I even THINK about cutting. LOL

All my fabric is washed, I have allergy problems with the dyes and finishes, even the smell of new fabrics makes my eyes water. Most of the time, I do not starch before using, but once in a while, one will be too limp for easy handling. But, others do very well without pre-washing, go figure. piecefully, the old one

If the fabric is a loose weave such as muslin or a cheaper quality of fabric I preshrink the fabric but I do not use starch. Most of the fabric I buy is a higher quality from LQS's. I am shopping for 30's pastel reprints that I will probably wash and shrink because there is such a wide variety in the quality and thread count that I don't want the finished quilt to shrink unproportionately (is that a word???) I'm sitting here about to take a sip of my first cup of coffee this morning after a late night studying...maybe I should make a sign to tape to my computer that says "DRINK BEFORE POSTING!"

Always wash separately then iron. With so many of the fabrics being manufactured overseas (especially concerned about China), I don't know what kind of chemicals are being used during production. I never use fabric softener either.