I don't wash my fabrics either except for my PFD fabrics when I want to do some dyeing. I have found that cutting the corners off doesn't really seem to stop the ravelling but I buy good fabric for dyeing and it doesn't seem to ravel too much. I'm doing a batik block sway here so I guess I will have to break down and wash some batiks.

I made a beautiful wall hanging for a friend with unwashed fabric . She decided she wanted it as a table topper. Someone spilled something and when she washed it, the colors ran and it looked terrible. I don't have any of the fabrics left to make her another one. I always wash everything now. Just keep a scissors by the washer and dryer.

I always wash all my fabric before I use it - I want to get rid of the chemicals sprayed on it to keep the bugs away as well as catch the extra dye that comes off. The jelly rolls, FQs, charms all get hand washed in the sink with super hot water and hung to dry, bigger yardage goes in the washing machine. I will wash and rinse as many times as necessary to get clear rinse water - 21 times is the record so far. I prefer to hang everything to dry...I spray it with starch while it's wet and when it's dry it is so easy to iron. I wait to iron it until I'm an ready to cut it.

Jelly rolls I don't wash. Fat quarters I hand wash only if I'm concerned about color bleeding...as with batiks. I fill a small plastic tub (which was an expensive going away gift after a stinit in the hospital) and soak like colors with a little detergent and hand agitate. I might lay them out to dry or sometimes use the dryer...depends on the fabric and my mood.

There was a thread on here not too long ago talking about prewashing scraps for scrappy quilts. One lady says she hand washes in the sink and 'spins' the water out in her salad spinner. Now that's creative thinking! :thumbup:

I wash everything by hand except what we call unbleached calico. I think it is called muslin in America. I know the quilt snobs turn there noses up at the mention of it, but I make quilts to be used. Calico gets softer and whiter the more you wash it.
I will wash it up to 8 times before using it. Always have a stash of it so I don't run out.Buy 10 metres at a time.
I do use quilt shop quality fabric as well as fabric off eBay and any bargains I just happen to find.
As I give them away to charity as well as family & friends I figure I will use what I feel is right for the quilt.

When I first started sewing, I serged and prewashed all fabric, but I stopped that a long time ago and have never had a problem with shrinking, bleeding, etc. Use that time it would have taken to cut, construct, and quilt!

I soak mine in a sink folded flat for abaout and hour and that will handle any shrinkage or color fade, and the ends don't ravel!

Nope just smart and obviously have learned the lesson in the past like me.

I bought 10 yds of flannel batik from SewBatik. I called them and asked if the fabric needed to be prewashed. They yes, absolutely. So, I cut it, washed it with tiny bit of detergent and Retayne in warm water on delicate cycle w/cold rinse. Also put in a dye magnet. I had cut them longer than what I needed. The colors are still beautiful and vibrant. The dye magnet turned just a very light pink. The pieces did shrink about 2 inches. So glad I cut longer than needed and am so glad I pre-washed.