I have been told chemicals in fabric is bad and not to wear anything before it is washed but I did not know about the 5 times I had a new pair of tennis shoes make my feet burn so bad that I had to go to the doctor and was told that a lot of people had the same problem because of chemicals used in them to so makes one wonder what really goes into this stuff and the laws here does no good when it comes in from all over

Thank you for the information.

I wash new fabric three times. I don't have skin problems, but do have breathing problems. I'm going to my LQS to "feel" the fabric today. I think I need to wear a painter's mask.

form·al·de·hyde   

a colorless, toxic, potentially carcinogenic, water-soluble gas, CH 2 O, having a suffocating odor, usually derived from methyl alcohol by oxidation: used chiefly in aqueous solution, as a disinfectant and preservative, and in the manufacture of various resins and plastics.

Fabrics are treated with urea-formaldehyde resins to give them all sorts of easy care properties such as:

Permanent press / durable press
Anti-cling, anti-static, anti-wrinkle, and anti-shrink (especially shrink proof wool)
Waterproofing and stain resistance (especially for suede and chamois)
Perspiration proof
Moth proof
Mildew resistant
Color-fast

Read more: http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_..._and_smel.html

I am like you. I thought they quit using it. we must be wrong. back to washing more often. I have gotten lasy about it. mostly because I dont want to iron it until I am ready to use it. a lazy streak.

Janeknapp...thank you so much for the link! Read it twice and printed it out. Now have to be a label reader again!

Thank you very much for this great article I have lots of alergys and the doctor said there are so many chemicals in everything anymore food included that they cannot even pronounce them or know what they are I know I had to quit using toothpaste and go to plain baking soda maybe this is why

Thanks for that information. You know, I have been sewing a lot lately and feeling pricks in my skin and a lot of itching.....I thought I had mosquitoes in the house altho' I never could see or hear them! Must be the __________. :| :-(

Funny, I always wash new clothes before wearing them, but I rarely wash fabric before sewing with it! And yes, I have exzema and get contact dermatitis from some things.

I pre-wash my fabrics, even the ones that state that they do not need to be pre-washed. I also use an air filter (home depot kind) whenever I am working in my quilt room... what gets on your hands is also breathed into your lungs... keep quilting but quilt in as healthy a manner as possible... so many chemicals and additives these days.