I put them in the tub, add hot water and a bit of soap and squish up and down. Drain and lay flat to dry

I will test for bleed on red...have chucked a few of those....and navy blue, and batiks( sometimes) by snipping a piece put in cup of hot water, if bleeds, I will not use it....that's the extent of my washing/ drying of fab.....maybe because no one in my life's circle has allergies......so I don't have to be concerned w/ chems either...... We each find the path we want to walk on....

I just put them in a mesh wash bag and wash at 40 degrees.

I first learned quilting from an older woman from Vermont who taught us to boil with salt and vinegar all of our fabrics. It is smart to do this with like colored fabrics. You can actively see the color bleeding of blacks and reds greatly. it certainly is a lot of work........but the extreme hot water does strink the fabrics without the violent agitation, and the salt and vinegar work as color mortants. Hand wash with mild detergent and dry. I'm sure most people will revolve over this extra work. I know that if my quilt tops are going to shrink, it will be minimal and there is no color bleeding.

This is one thing I love about we quilters....We may all do things differently, but we're all after a common goal: to create. And we all can respect each others differences. And learn new things. :thumbup:
Regards,
Kif
PS And generally we all say "No quilt police needed, thank you kindly. Lol

To pre-shrink , fade and bleed test= I don't usually pre-wash FQs but when I do it's in the sink with hot water and a few drop of liquid laundry soap, soak for 5-10 minutes, swish, rinse, squeeze out excess water then squeeze out again with "iffy" pieces rolled in white paper towels. If there is any color transfer I do it again. Toss I hot dryer until almost dry then stack and lay flat while pressing one at a time. After all these years I have only had problems with one fabric line-I loved this fabric and all that was available was FQs - I bought a lot! It was tone on tone in NAVY and in RED the lighter tone was a dragon fly pattern. It bled, faded, schrank and every crease fold faded !
,

This seems to be a perennial question and discussion. The answer seems to be "do whatever suits you best." I never prewash anything except reds and now that we have color catchers, don't usually do that. If the fabric is in small pieces, it ravels all to strings and if it is in large pieces, it takes forever to iron. I agree with maniacquilter. froggyintexas

I have now decided I I'll also wash rick rack. Some of those trims also shrink. Puckers bother me .

I've always prewashed, I guess because that is what I was taught to do when learning to sew as a teenager. Old habits die hard. :)

I never pre wash. I throw in a couple of color catchers when I wash the quilt and things come out fine. The only fabric I prewash is flannel and I only use that when someone gives it to me. I find there is minimal shrinkage, not enough to worry about.
I was taught to prewash but I always wanted to play with my fabric as soon as I got home so I quit years ago.