I just purchased my first jelly roll - I love it - the best coordination of fabric I have ever seen. I may never buy yardage again - ok, someone slap me silly for saying that! I almost always prewash and use spray starch on my fabric - I can't imagine prewashing all those strips from a jelly roll and I'm not sure if I should starch it while ironing - will it stretch out of shape or will spray starch make the fabric shrink or distort it in any way? Thanks for your help. :)

I wouldn't toss it in a machine for washing, but if you want, you could soak it in a dishpan, then hang to dry. Wouldn't try to dry it in a dryer either. Would come a a HUGE mess.....

I agree. I don't wash my jelly rolls. They would be a tangled mess and you might lose alot of fabric to fraying.

Don't wash. Don't iron, press. I use jelly rolls the way they are and have never had any problem with them.

Keep in mind that right now you have perfect 2.5 inch strips. If you wash and they shrink even slightly then your measurement is off. Then you'll have to trim them all down and you'll be wasting money. Use all unwashed fabric in the same project.

IMHO, i would not do anything with them but make a quilt.. :D
they do not need to be washed..if you have stripes or whatever..they will get all distorted...even if you soal them in a dishpan.

never wash a jelly roll! I never say never, but this time, i would!
you can spray starch your strips if you wish, just keep them straight on your ironing board while you do so.
Pre-cuts of any kind are not meant to be pre-washed. If you are purchasing them from a major company, such as Moda, Hoffman, etc. there will be no problem.
Wash your finished project in cool water, if necessary, and dry on low heat for 10 minute intervals. We *never* (here I go again, but true!) pre-wash our fabrics for kit samples, and there has not been a problem with shrinkage or bleeding, but we follow the instructions above.
Hope this helps.
Lisa
Quilter's Paradise, Westchester NY
www.quiltersparadiseonline.com

I wouldn't prewash the jelly roll. If it's quilt shop quality fabric you don't have to worry.

If it's all the same line, which jelly rolls usually are, the fabrics will shrink consistenly and not be a problem. Also, at our quilt shop, we've found those Shout Color Catches are WONDERFUL for washing colors together. I've tossed in reds, whites, darks together and with a color catcher, the dyes don't run onto the other fabrics - only on the color catcher. I don't know how it works, but it does!

I also never wash my fabric. But I always use Dye Grabbers in the first wash when finished with my quilt. You can find them at Wallmart or grocery store, they look like dryer sheets but you put them in the washer with your quilt.