Pre-Wash Black Cotton?
 

Will the black cotton bleed if don't prewash?

Any color can run. I once had a black lose so much color, it had spots of light and dark, I had to take it back. You can cut off a piece and place it in a glass of water for a couple hours to see if it will bleed.

Thanks for the idea!

In my opinion, black is like red. I think most are heavily over dyed. I would definitely was black.

I use color fast sheets when I wash my quilts. I believe they are made by Tide. I usually put three in the washer when I wash it.

Why take the chance?????

I have made a quilt with black back and sashing. Washed it long after it was quilted... also used color catchers... no bleeding problems!

My rule is when in doubt .. prewash! It can save lots of heartache. Put a scrap of white fabric in with it to see if it picks up color.

I bought some black fabric from my local quilt shop. Since I planned to use it to frame off-white pieces, I pre-washed and used 3 color catchers, which came out pitch black. I washed 3 more times with color catchers before they came out light grey. I think it depends on what you're putting it with. If i were putting it with very dark colors, I would still pre-wash, but be less obsessive about it, but I think you need to be cautious with black.

It really depends on the fabric. I have had blacks that did not lose any color, and blacks that were over-dyed a lot. If you are not sure and don't want to prewash unless absolutely necessary, test the fabric. Cut a small swatch and drop it in a glass of water. Let is sit for a day and see if any dye bleeds into the water. Also, take the damp swatch and rub it against other fabrics to see if any black transfers. If the fabric fails either test, I would prewash it.

I agree that black is often like red in terms of bleeding. I have had both be non-bleeders and both be bad bleeders.