I am sort of new at quilting. The person who taught me so much, said don't pre wash. But reading on here it sounds like most of you pre wash. Can you all give me advise? Thank you.

I don't, some do. If you do a search you'll probably find a lot of discussions about it. :)

Wow this can really cause a debate. I personally wash all my fabric because the chemicals on the new fabric irritates my skin. After a while my fingernails starts to split and my hands itch.

It is a personal preference - what ever your prefer. Sometimes it is a matter of how fast you want to start the project when you bring the fabric home. Or lack of water, if you need to super conserve. Some really like the look of the fabric before it is washed, it is easy to handle too.

nope.

I never do unless it's flannel

Really? Cause that's an AWESOME quilt in your avatar!

I don't pre-wash anything bought in a LQS or made in a commercial environment (like batiks).

Personal preference. And I've also vowed never to make a red and white quilt. :mrgreen:

Good point - I was thinking after I posted earlier that I actually did wash the reds in my current quilt!

I usually prewash, if I get it done in time. Some of my baby quilts I'm finishing the stitching on the label just a few minutes before heading out the door. It ensures that I've left no germs or loose threads on the quilt. Plus it gives me the assurance that the quilt will withstand being washed, the seams are secure, and that the fabrics shouldn't bleed. I wash just like my normal laundry - cold water, regular cycle, dry on hot (my dryer is :-( and only has "cool knit" or "hot regular"). I use my normal detergent (either all or purex "free and clear").

Ooops, just realized this was "pre-washing fabric", not "pre-washing quilts prior to giving" - I don't prewash fabric purchased at stores. If purchasing from someone's stash, I do sometimes prewash due to possible animal hair and smoke.

I don't pre-wash fabric. Saves me a lot of time! However, I do test suspicious fabrics for potential bleeding, as I do not want to put a bleeder fabric into a quilt. To test I just cut off a 2-inch square of fabric, drop into a glass of water and watch to see if any dye seeps into the water. I also will rub the dampened fabric against white fabric to see if any dye "crocks". In my experience, something like 99.8% of all fabrics do not bleed; however, it only takes one bleeder to ruin a quilt.

I don;t

I don't. I make a lot of scrap quilts so it would be hard. I got my scraps from a lady who had a cottage industry making hundreds of quilts a year. She never prewashed.

some people do=some don't - it is a personal choice...if you choose not to you need to at least color test reds- dark bright colors to make sure they don't bleed other than that == people make fabulous quilts with unwashed fabrics---and with washed fabrics...

I prewash because some sizings make my asthma act up and I start weezing

There are all sorts of people that will jump in here and tell you all kinds of reasons why you really, really, REALLY should wash your fabric or else!

If you don't want to spend a whole lot of time washing and ironing fabric, ignore them. It's a whole lot of work to wash and iron and starch 10 yards of fabric before you even get to cutting.

The main reason people give for washing seems to be dye bleeding. If it's not set in the original it won't be set in anything that picks it up and will wash out of that item too. Most fabrics don't pick fugitive dye up out of the wash anyway. Wash a red and white together. If the red bleeds and the white doesn't pick the dye up, it's not a problem.

One of the top quilters in the counry, Harriet Hargrave, does not prewash fabric. She and her daughter have written a series of books called "Quilter's Academy" and I highly recommend the first book for all quilters. Harriet has been quilting since the '70s at least so I'll bet she's had more than enough experience to be a true authority.

:thumbup: Phrase of the day! ;-)

I don't usually unless I'm afraid it will bleed. I usually test a small piece in a white coffee filter soaked in a bit of water to see if it does

Oh gosh, we have had many many discussions and very little agreement on this topic!!! I don't prewash, except for flannel, but sometimes pretest a small piece of the fabric.

Do this experiment, wash a load of clothes with plenty of colors, that doesn't have anything new in it, and throw in a color catcher. Bet the color catcher comes out with dye on it. Before you threw that color catcher in you didn't even know any of the dyes were bleeding but it wasn't a problem either. I have clothes that I've had for at least a couple of years that are still bleeding dye. Nothing picks up the fugitive dye though so it's not a problem.

Always prewash, don't like surprises. You get a good feel for the material when you do. Always starch when pressing the material to give back the sizing.

I prewash reds as they are notorious for bleeding and all flannels as they shrink. And then always wash after completion to get rid of any remaining sizing, basting spray, and soils from my hands. It also gives it that soft and cuddly look and feel which I love.

ALWAYS.

good tip

I prewash flannel and for swaps. Otherwise - nope.

I don't prewash my fabric, but I know I'm running the ragged edge of disaster. I recommend prewashing despite what I do. You will never remember what fabric you prewashed and what you didn't.

For flannel, I only buy high qualify flannel. It DOES shrink. It all does release dye. I still don't prewash. I just don't use lights.

I pre wash everything! That's the way I was taught 60 yrs ago. If I don't I will worry and stew about shrinkage,an color running, untill I wash the quilt for the first time, It gives me piece of mind, and I enjoy the whole process a lot more.

I cut off a small piece of darks, batiks and handdyes and test them in a clear bowl with hot water. If they don't bleed I don't worry about prewashing.
You will find that most have a personal preference, and either always wash, never, or occasionally...

However if you are involved in swaps read the fine print :wink: some do require they be washed and others not :D:D:D

I don't (unless unusual circumstances) but my quilting sister pre-washes everything!

I prewash everything. If it's going to shrink or the color run, I want it to happen before I put it ina quilt.

Nope. Not even good quality flannel. Only exception is red flannel, most of the time.
Never had any trouble. I use color catchers, and wash when coplete. I like the textured look.

I don't pre-wash new fabrics that I buy out of stores.

I did go to an auction and found a load of materials for quilting.
I bid and won. I have to wash then because they are cigarette smoke scented. Too strong to tell if there were any pets.

If I buy them from garage sales or any other than new they are washed before using.

do a search on this forum..for "wash or not" or anything using the word wash..you will get a million answers...

some will, some won't and some will regret it if they don't, so be sure to search out the ""HELP!!" the OMG", the "MY fabric bled, now what do I do", the "what do I do now", the "my quilt is ruined", and the" I could just cry"topics as well!

I wash because I know how many chemicals are on the fabric..I would rather include the washing, hanging out to dry and pressing as part of my process, because to me it completes the process. NO half-baked quilting/sewing here! Less things to worry about that way!

I do most of the time, but not precuts and kits. A favorite quilt instructor was allergic to fabric stabilizers and got me in the habit. I ALWAYS do for donated fabric, since not sure of the quality.

No, and neither do any of my quilting friends.
I do prewash Flannel fabrics. They shrink more and not evenly so I do prewash those.

Before a quilt goes out the door I run it thru the washer with 2 or 3 color catchers depending on the colors of the quilt.
Fortunately I have never had a problem. A time or two I have had a fabric leave a little color on my sewing machine, when that has happened, out it goes.

I pre wash--was always taught to in case of any shrinkage,may be I am wrong or wrongly taught

no, your were taught correctly/properly!
and ALL new sewers/quilter's should be taught what is right for the use of fabric. But you know how it is...instead of learning the proper care/use of fabric, people just do their own thing and then gripe later when fabric is off grain, it shrinks while being ironed, it bleeds all over their pretty white background...etc...

Just wondering -

How many hands have touched "new" fabrics that are/were still on bolts? Where have the fabrics been before they end up in the final buyer's shopping bag?

Many of us talk about the joy of touching/petting/caressing fabrics while shopping.

Wonder how many of us just may have had a cold or touched something unsanitary (like a door handle or money) before touching the fabrics?

I really don't know if fabric "retains" bacteria and/or viruses -

but why do some people seem to assume that if a fabric is purchased "used" it needs to be washed - and if it is purchased "new" - it does not need to be washed?

I don't pre-wash but may regret it someday. I have so much stash that it would be impossible to start pre-washing now. I also use jelly rolls, charm packs, etc. that are (in my humble opinion) too difficult to pre-wash.

Here's a link to what I posted last month. I HAVE to prewash for medical reasons. http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-136146-1.htm

This is another link regarding prewashing. Some of us DON'T have an option. http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_..._and_smel.html

I always wash any piece that has RED in it because of running. But I starch every piece before cutting.

This has been an on-going debate. I personally don't pre-wash new fabrics unless they have a "chemically" odor. I ALWAYS wash fabrics from yard sales, thrift shops etc. I was given a box of fabrics the other day that had been sitting in an outdoor shed for years. I opened it outside, with rubber gloves on and pulled the pieces out and shook them before washing them. Lots of insect casings, dead insect carcasses and even a couple of old wasp nest cells. I think it all depends on your own preferences and allergies. BTW, I ALWAYS wash finished baby quilts before gifting them.