Please give advise
 

I was wondering if a bunch of people would tell me if they pre wash the fabric before they use it. Some say they do and some say they don't. What is the real way to do it.
Also, some tell me they steam iron and some say they don't:confused:
I know you don't pre wash any of the pre cuts.
Please help me out.
Thank you,
Scuddles AKA Lori

It's personal preference. There's no right or wrong. I personally don't prewash, I have 5 children...I have enough laundry. I do wash all my finished quilts with color catchers...I haven't had a problem. If I think a color might run I use two. I don't steam because the water here spits plus you don't burn your fingers as much. Just do what works for you!!

I don't prewash. Lots of people do. I don't use a steam iron. I have a dry iron and if I need a little steam I use a spray bottle. I use Best Press before I cut.

Do what works for you and don't worry about what somebody else does. There truly is no one way to make a quilt. I have seen the same block done several different ways. None of them are the one "right" way to make the block, they're just different ways.

Welcome to the board.

I am in the wash before cutting group. I avoid precuts because I think if other fabrics should be washed / shrunk before sewing them, so should precuts.

I usually use steam when pressing . I don' t usually use sizing or starch.

Eventually, you will do what is "right" for you.

There are about a gazillion other threads on the topic. So far, it's still some do, some don' t.

I wash pre-cuts sometimes

Whether you pre wash or not do these etching to all fabrics being used in the project.
Using water in the iron I was told stretched the fabric. With ironing make sure you press and not iron. Ironing again stretches the fabric.
With quilting and the more you do the more you will find there are at least 2 ways to do everything. My friend does not agree with MSQC and Jenny's way of making 4 half square triangles . I like this way but I do a light spray of startch before sewing and cutting to hold the fabric still and stop stretching.
Any small increase in size on every piece alters the size considerable at the end.


One rule to keep......always always put the blade back into its holder immediately after cutting.

One of the few things most of us agree on.

When I first started quilting a few years ago, I nearly drove myself insane with trying to get things 'right'. I had no sewing experience and couldn't thread a machine. I'd look around at the other quilts and know I'd never be as 'good'.

Three years later, my confidence has grown to the extent that I don't worry about what other people do (that's not to say I don't ask for and follow advice, lol). A lot of this confidence has grown from reading this board, seeing what other people do and figuring out what works for me.

You won't get a definitive answer to your question. Some will tell horror stories of the perils of not pre-washing whilst others, like me, never do. There are several camps ;), viz.;

Pre-Washers (wash all)
Non-Washers (wash none)
Partial Washers (wash some)
Post Washers (wash after quilting)
Starchers (wash and then starch)

In ironing;

Streamers (iron with steam)
Partial Steamers (use steam occasionally)
Dry Ironers (never use steam)
Sprayers (dry iron but use a spray)
Clappers (use steam but set with clapper board)

So, to sum up - do what works for you. Happy quilting! :)

I certainly prewash. Who knows what kind of germs, etc are in the fabric from the factory and/or store. Also I give it a hard test witih hot water and a color catcher. Never know how some unknowing recipent is going to treat it. If it won't stand my "test", then I don't waste my time using it.

its up to you--you will always get different opinions on this one- some people pre-wash everything (even pre-cuts) some people pre-wash nothing- some people pick & choose- do what you feel is right at the moment- some things to consider...if a fabric is deeply saturated color (deep reds, turquoise, blues, purples) and you are worried about the colors bleeding pre=wash or at least do a color test to make sure before using. if you are concerned about shrinkage---pre=wash; if the fabric feels funky- or smells...pre=wash. if it's flannel and not for a raggy quilt, pre-wash. many people always wash their finished quilts- but that too is a personal choice. as for the steam/no steam...there is a time & place for steam, with starch, with sizing spray....you will learn as you go along when each is good. if you have a fabric that needs a little more than a dry iron is providing...try some steam....if you want to make cutting easier, more accurate- starch your fabric before cutting...put together a few practice blocks---or just cut a few squares of fabric & try each out- dry iron one, then steam one, then starch one....compare- see what you like. there is no right or wrong- there are no fast/hard rules- each quilter does it their own way- that works for them- try everything- then make your own decisions.

Welcome to the board from Texas

I prewash, allergic to the dyes or sizing in fabric. I try not to buy precuts unless I want the variety and its a really good price. I use both steam and dry iron.

I have been making quilts since the mid 70's, and I never pre-wash my fabrics. I have never had any problems either. When I wash my quilts, I never use hot water, never put them in a wringer washer, and use a gentle detergent like you would use for babies clothing.

I wash the pre-cuts and yes the jelly rolls. They usually go into a lingerie bag. I have a tag gun I use and have also used bread wrappers to keep the pieces together. Keeps them from tangling! Plus size knee-highs are good to use also.

OK, I haven't finished my first cup of coffee yet, but how are you using bread wrappers to wash precuts? My brain is still foggy.

I don't prewash. It has never caused any problems for me.

Dina

I pre wash all of my fabrics. If is going to shrink or fade or bleed or otherwise misbehave I want to know before I start making the quilt. I think most, if not all would agree to pre wash flannel as it usually shrinks quite a bit. I learned that one the hard way in high school when I made a cute flannel shirt without pre washing it & it shrunk like crazy. I also managed a few JoAnn Fabrics way back when and had some allergy problems caused by the sizing and things used in processing fabrics. So pre washing was always my choice. I'm a steamer too- I just always have, never knew not to!

To each their own though. There are many accomplished quilters who don't pre wash their fabric and have no problems.

Having learned the hard way about fabric I thought would not bleed , I prewash .. especially batiks. It took just once to have my hard work ruined by one bleeding fabric , I would rather spend the extra time at the beginning of the project than have the heartbreak of a ruined quilt.

I prewash everything except precuts, and I seldom buy those. I sometimes use steam, sometimes spray, sometimes dry, and recently when I had a lot of half-yard pieces I did the old technique of spritzing the fabric and wadding it up and placing it in a plastic bag before ironing. We used to do that with clothing before permanent press came out, and it still works great, so I'll do it again. I starch when I think it's necessary.

I don't prewash either.

I pre-wash (except pre-cuts) because I have asthma and the chemicals in the dye trigger my asthma. This is really a problem when I iron the fabric if it isn't pre-washed. When I walk in the door with fabric, it goes right to the laundry room before it even sees my sewing room. If I'm using a pre-cut or kit, I open the window, use my inhaler, and iron as little as possible. I always use steam. It takes less pressure on the iron. I agree with everyone else, there are no rules. You'll find what works for you.

I have a not-yet-mentioned argument for pre-washing: I love to fondle the fabrics :), they become more 'mine' through washing, drying and ironing.

IMHO
If you believe it will run enough to bleed into another adjacent fabric and make a mess, do a TEST WASH of a small piece. If it makes a real mess, then pre-wash it.

Otherwise fahgeddaboutit! You wash it to take out the sizing, then you resize it at great length and trouble, plus you have to deal with the unraveling edges. Bah!

I always pre-wash. So many times, I've washed fabric and had it bleed and/or shrink. Doesn't matter whether the fabric came from WalMart's bargain bin or the LQS. Most of the time it doesn't but sometimes it does. Why take the chance of having a quilt ruined, if it can easily be avoided. Several times, the fabric never stopped bleeding, even after a dozen washes! Yes, literally - I counted! One is a piece of denim, which I set aside for a dog bed. The other was a lovely piece of blue, which I finally returned to the store.
When I finish a quilt and give it to someone, there's NO way I'm gonna burden that person, with special washing instructions! My quilts are meant to be used and enjoyed, not to be a PITB when it comes time to wash them.

Bottom line is pre-washing takes a bit more of your time BUT once the quilt is finished, you know it can be washed without worry.

same here. I see it as a waste of my time and energy. I have no allergies, and knock on wood, no problems with bleeding fabrics after 8 years. I gave up steam, when I gave up ironing clothing ;-)

I prewash, but not precuts. I do not use steam. More habit and old school was I guess, lol!!!!

To this list it's necessary to add those who do not iron until all the piecing is done! I believe Kaye England teaches this method in her classes. Some of her students on the QB have reported back that it works, but I haven't had the courage to try it.

Of course there's also Ginny Beyer who doesn't bother to press seams in any particular direction; she just presses from the top and lets seams fall where they may. She hand pieces all of her quilts so seam direction is not important to her.

In Quilt magazine Aug/Sept 2013 the topic for their "Ask The Experts" page was the pre-wash/not pre-wash question. The six answers were all over. Jackie Robinson and Tula Pink never pre-wash. Pippa Armbrester and Deb Finan always pre-wash. Denyse Schmidt and Liza Lucy pre-wash some projects, do not pre-wash others.

There really isn't any rule that you have to follow. I always pre-wash,but I have allergies, so I have to. Some people don't pre-wash anything. Some people find pre-washing to be tedious, but, I don't. I just throw the fabric in the washing machine and then the dryer. I don't iron until I'm ready to use it. That way I know that the fabric is done with shrinking,bleeding,etc.,before I put it in a quilt. It would really irk me if I had completed my quilt with unwashed fabrics and even with color catchers it bled and ruined the quilt. But that's just me. Do what you want.

Figure out what works best for you. I feel like I have enough laundry to do to begin with, so I don't prewash. I use a dry iron (because I kept getting burned). I sometimes use spray starch/Best Pressed (it's a memory thing with me). Since I use Elmer's to sandwich, I wash all quilts once they are completely finished and throw a Color Catcher in there (ANOTHER thing that I wish I had invented!). Try not to overthink it or you won't be able to get anything accomplished. I've yet to have the Quilt Police storm my house to tell my I'm doing something wrong.

Hello everyone, I want to thank all of you for the information you had given me about pre washing and steam. I never completed a quilt yet. I had my eye on the double hour glass. So I went to JoAnns fabric and bought all my fabric. I washed everything in cold water, dried and pressed. I started cutting out my strips, my sewing machine is a Brother and I started sewing. I then put each block on my flannel wall, to see if I liked it that way. Lets just say I have started a scrap pile. I started crying, ( it has to be hormones, I cry at everything ) My husband felt so bad, he went out and bought me a Singer Fashion mate machine. This time I wanted to make a Rail Fence. I saw on a web site, a June Taylor a Shape, Cut,Pro mat. I love it, every newbie should buy it. So I cut my strips and sewed sewn (however you spell it, lol ) the strips together. I did not know you are supposed to make sure the stitches lock so after all that, I noticed the stitches didn't lock. I changed the tension, I threaded the machine over and the bobbin over. So a friend came over to look at it and said the machine was a lemon. Once again the tears came and my scrap pile got bigger. My hubby took it back and took me to Joanne's fabric and bought me a Husqvarna Viking. I thought you had to order it on line, but they had them right in the store. He bought me the machine and she showed me a bunch of stuff and told me there are free classes, I forgot the date but it's on the calender. I still want to make the Rail Fence quilt. I bought fabric online and I am waiting and I haven't received it yet. Last night I was getting my stuff all together so all I would need would be the fabric. I was changing the blade in my rotary cutter and I sliced the tip of my finger. Again the tears came, not from hormones There was blood everywhere, he called my neighbor who is a nurse to see if I would need stitches. I had a tetnus shot 3 years ago and they are good for 10 years. She said no, but she wrapped me up good and she put these little rubber thing on my finger. I can't take the site of blood so I was light headed and nauseous. My husband took out about 3 or 4 lysol wipes to clean it all. Of course it would have to happen on my right hand, the hand I use. OMG, I didn't realize how long my letter was. Oh well, I have to start buying fabric once again. If anyone knows where there are beginners quilt patterns, Could you please send me the link. I already love Jenny and all of her great tutorials.
Happy Quilting, Lori

One of my friends wanted to learn to quilt. She kept asking for the "right" way to do whatever (like half square triangles). I told her of 4-5 different methods but she wanted to know the "right" way. Kept telling her she needed to try each one and find what made sense to her. Same with washing or not - do what makes sense to you.

I dont usually prewash unless its a color that I think will run or I am making a quilt that has several colors that arent close in color as in beige with green etc. I always prewash the colors that tend to bleed like reds, blacks, dark blues. I even wash the precuts in those colors by just placing them in a sink and letting them soak for a few minutes then rinsing until water comes clear. The only exception to this is when I am making a commissioned piece or something that I know I am going to sell. I then prewash all fabrics regardless of color and use Retain on them to ensure the customers have no problems with their items when they wash them.

For beginner patterns, I don't think you can do better than Jenny! Just my opinion.

Hope your finger heals quickly and you can get back to quilting. (And be careful with that rotary cutter! LOL)

I do because I want to know what the fabric will do when subjected to washing. If it is going to bleed, shrink, fall apart, or loose its feel/texture once all the sizing is washed out I want it to do so before I spend alot of time and effort cutting and sewing. It saves time and money if I find this out before I invest more money in backing and batting.

Oh, dear. This isn't going well for you.

If you don't know how to use your machine, please take the classes offered by the store.

If you can - sign up for and take a beginner class.
Learn that instructor's way - (being aware that there are other ways) -

Sometimes too much input just makes one crazy.

I soak each dark fabric individually, no exceptions, in hot water. If it bleeds, it gets pre-washed in warm water with other bleeders, using 2 Color Catchers.

I do the same thing with other fabrics, too, but use just 1 Color Catcher.

My reason: low trust level! I wouldn't want to put in all that hard work to watch colors run later.

That being said, my LQS owner says she never prewashed quilt shop quality fabric, but puts 2 Color Catchers in the wash when she washes the finished quilt. I do not have that kind of trust in fabric!

You are too funny!!! And your husband sounds like a sweetheart. If I lived near by I'd love to come over and help you and we could have a good laugh at all of your trials, we've all had them. But seriously, I hope you find a beginning quilting class at a quilt shop or where ever you can, in addition to the lessons that came with your machine, you'll do great. Try to keep laughing through the tears!

Why I Pre-Wash
 

I have posted many times on the subject of pre-washing, but here is another picture. It shows the testing of a name brand LQS fabric in my kitchen sink. Needless to say, it did not pass my test, so I used Retayne to set the dye, and I will enjoy using this "high end" fabric in my next project with confidence.

I pre-wash almost everything and Retayne those fabrics that don't rinse clear after 2 tries. I don't care where they come from before I get them -- garage sales, LQS, or my mom's closet.

Dayle

Bless your heart! Sounds like WAY too much is being thrown at you, all at once! While your finger is healing, just take it easy and browse quilt patterns.

There are many easy quilt patterns, which work up quite impressively. Since you're just starting out, why not make a simple lap/sofa quilt with those scraps? Trim them to a uniform width, then sew a bunch together, end to end. When you have a bunch of long strips, start sewing them together, side to side. Before you know it, you'll have a quilt top! :thumbup:

Good Evening to all,
I just want to tell everyone of you how much I appreciate all of your advise and also how friendly everyone is.
OMG, I cannot believe how much the red fabric bleeds. I will have to buy the Shout color catches just in case.
I want to sew so bad, boy is that a tongue twister. It's a good thing I didn't have to say it, it would never have come
out that way, lol. I think I am try it both ways with pre washing and not pre wash and hopefully I will be able to see
which one I like better. I will say one thing, I will come back here if I need another question answered if that's alright.
Thanks a bunch,
Lori:thumbup: