Opinion about washing fabric before cutting it
 

I am in the wash-before-cutting group.

In fact, I now soak fabrics in hot water for at least two hours before they get washed with a gentle detergent in cool to warm water on a short cycle. (Like colors together, in case one of them is a bleeder.)

Then dried "until done" in a dryer - or line dried when a dryer is not available.

My opinion is:

It is lengthy agitation and/or overloading in a washer and overloading in the dryer that cause that "used" look that is caused by the fabric(s) rubbing against each other that causes abrasion.

The fabrics should not be crammed or tightly packed in either the washer or dryer to have good results.

I pre wash if the fabric is flannel. The only time I pre wash cotton is if I'm garment or home sewing, for example the crib sheets I just made.

Cari

I, as a minimum, dip in hot water, and let dry. Then iron & starch. Always checking for bleeders and attempting to obtain similar shrinkage in the final quilt top flimsey. This is what I do when I don't prewash. I never prewash my batting. But I use 100% cotton batting expecting a shrinkage of 3 to 5% to make that vintage krinkle!

I do prewash some fabrics. I don't overload or over agitate my fabrics and have never seen the used look. I'm not ever sure how you could get a used look in one washing. If the fabric is prone to fading etc, its going to do it when its made up and washed anyway so it doesn't really matter.

I pre wash all fabrics in Coldwater Tide and dry them on regular in my dryer. I would never use hot water nor soak them. I never overload washer or dryer. I dry one piece at a time if it is several yards. After dry I put on glass topped dining table and smooth out and fold over my 6 x 24" ruler.

I wash with a pre-wash solution (synthropol?). Two hours soaking in hot water would never be done during a normal wash so I treat my fabric the same way it will be treated when complete. Cool water wash with very gentle soap and dried on warm setting.

I pre wash but simply as I do any of my other laundry. Warm water; regular detergent; toss in the dryer until done. Granted, it's usually a wrinkled mess at that point, but, oh well. Just part of the process for me. I come from a garment background of a bazillion years ago, so pre-washing was just 'what was done'. Haven't changed my habits. It works for me.

I pre-wash all my fabrics, due to chemicals, smells, etc. :)

A lady/blogger named Vicki Welsh has some interesting commentary about this:

https://www.colorwaysbyvicki.com/sav...ing-quilt.html

http://www.gqccc.org/wp-content/uplo...icki-Welsh.pdf

PS Someone else mentioned this thread before - sorry - I don't remember who it was.

i only prewash if there is dye showing when I rub a white paper (very hard) on a fabric. I was told to do this by an LQS owner. i don't have a sensitivity to dyes,etc so no concern there. I don't worry much about shrinkage cause I use lots of steam when I iron the yardage so it shrinks then. I think a lot of the shrinkage that gives that "vintage" looks is because there's shrinkage with bat and backing (although I do wash backing often cause I find wideback needs to be in order to get it straight). I like to hand my washed fabric on the line to dry--less wrinkles!

I used to wash fabric before use but I don't anymore unless it's red or something I know will bleed. I honestly haven't noticed a difference. I find it a pain to wash and dry fabric before I use it. I don't have allergies though, if I did I probably would pre-wash.

I also pre-wash in hot water. To hopefully control bleeding and shrinkage. If I am concerned, about bleeding, I use Retayne, and let soak in hot water for about 1/2 hour, then finish washing. I don't always use soap. I just washed a wide 108 inch backing in hot water and after washing and drying, it was 102 inches in width. A good reason to pre-wash to me.

I do not pre wash. I will cut off a small piece and wet it and lay it on a white paper towel to see if it bleeds-but I only do that rarely. So far, I have been lucky. I do use color catchers when I wash the quilt.

I always prewash

Very useful article. Thanks for all of your research and taking the time to share it. Bookmarked and saved!

I'm in the pre-wash club. I wash them and then iron and starch them. Good as "new"!

I have had at least one fabric from every color group be a bleeder.

Orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, red, black and brown have all bled for me.

By the same token, most of the fabrics from all those groups have been color=fast.

I haven't figured out a way - by just looking - which ones are fast and which ones will bleed.

Also - I have had bleeders from "good" brands like Moda and Jinny Beyer for RJR.

I pre-wash everything. I don't like the "smell" fabrics have. I treat just like regular laundry, and dry in the dryer. I take out of dryer, and fold. I iron when needed. I have a friend who gives me a lot of fabric from her massive stash, which has all been pre-washed, and I re wash that. Se has a cat, and a dog, and DH is allergic so it all gets washed.

My experience with most, but not all, LQS owners and staff is that they either don't know that their fabrics bleed or they know and won't admit it.

I test everything, pre-wash most fabric, and Retayne those that don't stop bleeding with a soaking.

I prewash everything, every single piece of fabric. Like bear said, there are bleeders in every color in the rainbow. I found a product which "sets" the dye in every color in the rainbow. While I don't make large numbers of quilts, it is all the more important that the ones I do make do not end up bleeding all over themselves and anything else that it might come in contact with. First, I "test" every colored fabric, no matter -- from the deepest reds all the way to the deepest browns and blacks. I live on a tight budget, so I can't afford to have a quilt ruined or throw fabric in the trash. That being said, I don't sell quilts - I make them with love for various family members. I have had a lot of success with this product -- not one single fabric I've treated has ever again been guilty of bleeding. I won't mention the name of the product -- I don't want to be a walking commercial for the product. I have no financial interest or any interest of any kind. The product was, I gather (I could be wrong) intended to set the dyes on hand-painted fabrics. I used it to set the dyes in the red and while log cabin which is pictured in my avatar. I re-tested every piece of fabric in it for color-fastness of the various shades of red, and not a one of them exhibited any further bleeding. The primary reason I prewash all my fabrics is due to asthma that has become a thorn in my backside in my later years. But, since I have to pre-wash and treat the reds and other colors, I prewash the whites as well, separate from any other colors. I'll be glad to provide any of you interested in the name of the product if you will send me a pm. Just know I'm not selling this product, I'm a user, and I won't make a quilt without testing the fabrics for color-fastness. Also, discretion is the better part of valor. I ALWAYS use color catchers in the wash with my quilts.

Edit: I do not buy quilt kits, or any pre-cut fabrics, so that's another issue for which I don't have an answer, except that I do not buy them for that reason.

I make quilts that go to people that may or may not know "the correct way to wash a quilt."

Therefore, I try to have fabrics that can just be "thrown" in the washer with ordinary detergent and be treated like "ordinary" laundry.

Of course, I would prefer that the people use care (and good sense) when they wash their quilt - but when one has a baby that is throwing up or suffering from diarrhea - "proper laundry methods" probably are not the most important thing on the caretaker's list. Just get the thing washed and the icky stuff off it!

The only things I really worry about - as far as the quilts I've sent on their way - are bleach, burns, and rips.

Even with washed fabrics - letting a wet quilt "set" in a was is asking for trouble!

The biggest "bleeders" I've ever come across have been dark blues, not reds. I just soak in warm water, then dry on clothesline, then iron.

I wash all fabrics before cutting them. I cannot wash precuts but I use steam for pressing . I never was allergic to
anything until my fifties when I developed asthma and began a long battle to find the triggers for it. There are quite
a few and one is FABRIC in the LQS. Washing every thing helps to keep me from wheezing when I go shopping for
fabric or clothing or when I am cutting or piecing.

None of my four children had allergies when young but each one has some problems as they pass through their
forties into early fifties. All test positive for unwashed fabrics in clothing and bedding.

Therefore I wash !!

I always wash as soon as I can after getting it home. The order alone gets to me. Also as a young just getting started sewer I had a very heart breaking shrinking and bleeding problem that taught me better be safe than sorry.

Do whatever you want, but just do it consistently. Having half your stash washed and the other half unwashed will result in problems when you forget whether washed or not.

I don't prewash unless I'm making swap stuff. The only disaster I ever had was from red flannel that WAS prewashed and two Jenny Beyer fabrics from her very early lines. I still use the quilt despite its stains on the front. Not a big deal to me, but not giftable.

I wash everything that comes in the house. I spend so many hours in design, effort, time and money to have a quilt not play nice after the fact. Frayed, bleeding, wrinkled, washed out and shrinking fabric is not what I want to play with and knowing how a fabric acts before I want to use it is the smart way to be sure of what I am using.

Washing a load of fabric is way too simple a thing not to do. It keeps me happy.
peace