pre cuts question
 

Are Moda precut layer cakes prewashed when you buy them? Never used them before bought some at garage sale. The fabric I want to put with it has been washed. I new the experts on this board would know. Thanks in advance. **Fredwtb3**

No, they aren't. I wouldn't worry about them. I mix washed/unwashed and don't have problems with it.

no precuts are washed. you can soak them and lay them all out to dry if you are really worried.

Precuts are not washed. I would just use them with your other washed fabrics. If I have a precut piece in a dark color like black or navy or red, I will rub a damp white cloth on it to see if there is any color transfer--if there is it is a bleeder risk and I will presoak it flat in the sink first before sewing with it.

Yup, not prewashed.

Moda is a pretty good brand, though - maybe test a couple of the darkest pieces for bleeding if you're worried but personally I would feel fine mixing Moda unwashed precuts with other pre-washed fabric. (And I'm a dedicated pre-washer!)

If pre-washed, the squares will shrink and will no longer be 10", and will no longer be square, as fabric shrinks unevenly.

I've never understood how shrinkage cannot lead to problems, when the shrinking happens after fabric is stitched into a block. If you pre-washed a 10" square before using, and had planned to use it in a block that called for a 10" square, you would no longer be able to use it in that block, as it would no longer measure 10" square. Yet it works out okay when shrinkage happens after stitching? Is this because the quilting stitches hold everything in place?

I pre-wash my pre-cuts. They almost never shrink much, if at all. I just don't want the chemicals in them. I do a lot of applique & noticed sometimes the WonderUnder doesn't bond as well if a piece of fabric hasn't been pre-washed. I just put them in on the cold water hand wash cycle with a Tablespoon of Tide Free, then pop them in the dryer on low heat. Since I instruct people who get my quilts to only use cold water & the gentle cycle, followed by low heat in the dryer, I figure there's no need to use warm water to try to get the fabric to shrink more. I don't have any problems with this method.

I think the point of saying "no need to pre-wash" is because they are such small pieces that any shrinking would probably not make a big impact versus using a large background or feature fabric that might have a cut of a yard or more. I've only ever had shrinking issues with pre-cuts with 2 fabrics and they were both from a big box store that shall remain nameless. I still pre-wash my LQS pre-cuts, but not because I'm concerned about shrinkage.

That is correct the quilting and batting regulate shrinkage. Most good quality cottons have little shrinkage. I have a log cabin quilt i did about 9 years ago, everything unwashed. Its slightly wrinkly but not by very much. I am still not a prewasher, but I have not had an issue with bleeders yet. Just started using batiks so only time will tell since I love batiks

Not prewashed. I wouldn't worry mixing them though.

None of the pre-cut fabric are washed.