I always prewash...period. I have had bleeding fabric that I had to treat with retayne, I have had flannel that pilled up so bad it wasn't usable, and I have had fabrics that shrank so bad that durung the first wash after construction they pulled loose from the seam. I take no chances anymore...it just isn't worth the time or money to ruin a quilt the first time you wash it. I see posts at least once a month from quilters who didn't prewash and have problems.

I just finished a kit I purchased a few years ago, but did not pre-wash the fabrics. Generally though, I pre-wash all my fabric yardage and fat quarters, but not the smaller precuts. I have in the past but the precuts can be messy and tangled, so I don't pre-wash them, but I admit I seldom use precuts, mainly yardage and fat quarters. I've found that all fabrics do not shrink the same (even if it's very minimal shrinkage), and I want to know that before I make the quilt.

To wash the pre-cuts, I try to soak them in a basin with a gentle liquid soap, like "Woolite" or the store-brand like "Cool Wash". I give them gentle squeeze, or pat them, creating suds. If I have Reds or Dark Blues, or Blacks, those get soaked separately.

I am now washing all yardage after ziz zaging edges. I didn't and ended up throwing out a couple of finished items due to bleeding in lighter colors.

I prewash now due to a bandana print (red) that made a mess out of my blue and white in the quilt. Three washings did not fade the bleeding red. I don't usually use pre cuts because of them being a pain to pre wash. I use the color catchers now and even after prewashing, occasionally I will have bleeding with dark colors. I don't press the fabric until I'm ready to use it, just fold it right out of the dryer. Also, I sometimes surge the edges to prevent the strings.

This topic has been covered over and over again. Check the history and you'll find all the opinions you'll ever need.

I don't wash the fabrics.

I sometimes wash, sometimes not, depending on the cuts I'll be doing. Sometimes the stiffness of the manufacturer's sizing really helps with cutting . I had some large pieces ( 3 yards plus each) to wash this week, and really wanted to minimize fraying, so I washed them in some king size cotton pillow cases closed with rubber bands. I put a color catcher in and it worked great! Washed beautifully, very minimal fraying, and got a couple nice clean pillow,cases as a bonus : ). My first quilt was for my granddaughter, in greens and purples and I did not prewash. When I washed it for her the first time, I used a couple color catchers and the quilt looked awesome...the shrinkage gave it a lovely aged look. Since then it has not shrunk any more that I can see despite several cold water washes, and she really loves it.

Well, she may think that's true, but I just bought some burgundy fabric AND I prewashed it, and my color catchers came out pink! It went back in the washer until there were no more pink color catchers. I wasn't will ing to give up on this beautiful fabric!

yes, indeed. As I said, I didn't think I would change anyone's mind. I'm going to continue not to prewash until I get in trouble. I use color catchers and I like the crinkled look.