I usually don't prewash, except flannels. However, I recently purchased some Jinny Beyer and the put a little printed sheet in saying it should be prewashed.

I do not pre-wash for several reasons. I live in a condo complex and do not have my own washer and dryer. For the many years I have been sewing/quilting I have never had anything bleed or shrink that really made a big difference. Like several have mentioned I love the feel of a quilted quilt that has been gently washed and dried in the dryer with its little puffiness. That is how all the quilts my mother made felt and that is just part of my love of quilting. It is just me--but even with all the reds I use I have yet to have something bleed. Then there is the issue of flannel. I don't like the feel of flannel for anything therefore I don't use it or sew anything with it. It stretches and makes too much fuzz that I don't want to deal with. Just another thought-- I was told that in the processing of making batiks there is a great deal of the product be washed, dyed, washed, dyed, etc., therefore it does not need to be pre-washed. Maybe I am wrong, but I never pre-wash batiks either. The pre-washing, ironing would take too much of my sewing time. I would rather sew.

Me too!!! I love the crinkled look. I wait until it's finished to wash it.

i guess it depends on what you want your quilt to look like...if you pre-wash the fabric, you don't get the 'wrinkly' look from washing it after it's quilted (which i LOVE, so i don't wash any fabrics first, either!)
but not due to laziness...just preference!

=^..^=

I haven't prewashed in years...I like sewing the fabrics with the finishes still in the fabric, and like the look of an old fashioned quilt that you only seem to get with non-prewashed fabrics, then washing the whole quilt after it is finished. I have never had a problem with colors running.

I always pre wash.

Oh my word, that's so gross and who would have ever thought. I will prewash now since I buy a lot of supplies from garage sales and thrift stores.

OK, I'm a little slow on the uptake - when we say "wash" - are we talking with soap or without? My LQS told me to run it through a rinse cycle, spin dry and use the dryer to finish.

Thanks! and I LOVE following all the threads on this board.

Happy Holidays to you all!

Terry

I always prewash my fabric but I am concerned about bleeding and my smeller bothers me a lot with certain dyes that are in fabrics? I haven't figured out what it is yet...

This is sort of an aside -- but I wash the fabric before I cut.
And yes, I do wash - sometimes. It depends on where the fabric is from. I have many allergies in the family and sometimes I wash just to be sure. At one time, there was a line of fabric and all the dark colors had a mild fishy odor. You only noticed it when you were in a tight spot with a lot of it, but I I figured that needed washing. I find fabric purchased at Joanne's sometimes shrinks and sometimes not, so I do wash that. Some fabric has a lot of sizing and that too, needs washing.