A quilter friend of mine gave me a great hint on washing fabrics and avoided the tangled thread mess. I take my fabrics (one at a time), unfold some if you want, rinse in warm water (no soap) in the kitchen or bathroom sink. Make sure all the fabric gets wet. I usually roll in a towel to get most of the water out, then throw them in the drier and dry. No threads. If they bleed, I just rinse and wring until they stop. My friend and I are both working on Civil Was quilts so we had a lot of fat quarters but I have used this on up to 3 yds and it worked just fine. I then spray with sizing (optional) and iron. Also, they will not be as wrinkled.

Absolutely right. And it is the best way to get on the straight of grain. I still remember watching the ladies in the fabric department at Penney's tearing the fabric after making a little slit with the measuring/cutting machine. That was about 40 years ago!!!

I find that people that are afraid to tear, have never torn fabric before. And as far as damage, it is no worse than sewing, when you sew through fabric you are breaking threads. I have quilts that are 30 years old and are still totally intact and all the fabric was torn, the only worn places are the sewn seam. When you tear fabric and press it it goes back to its original state.

It's OK to tear your fabric.

You are absolutely right shaver....I'm scared and I've never torn... :shock: I believe you though...really!

I remember tearing fabric, it was a general rule to do so to get the straight grain. Happy to hear that others know of it as well :)

Try it on a scrap first. That way you don't have to worry about really good fabric. LOL

I always tear my fabric unless it is a small piece. It is the only way I can be sure it is straight. While I have used a rotary cutter for years if the fabric is longer than the ruler it always ends up crooked. The strings are a bother but at least I know I have the straight of grain. I even do that for my bindings unless I am cutting them on the bias.

The only time I ever tore fabric, it was a piece of 108" muslin. What a mess, tore all crooked, on on angle. Don't think I'll be trying it again anytime soon.

You go girl, me too. I don't find the strings a problem at all, it is worth it to know everything is exact.

i usually tear when i am using long yardages, then i cut it a bit to neat it up. But when you have 7 yards its hard to cut all at once.