I started out as a pre-washer for years. Now I don't prewash. It's a great time-saver and, at my age, I prefer to use my time making quilts than washing fabric!

I do test any fabrics that I suspect might bleed, such as the red fabric in the photo above. I drop a small piece of fabric into a glass of water and leave it for several hours to see if any dye bleeds into the water. Afterwards I rub the damp fabric against other light-colored fabrics to see if dye transfers that way. (Some fabrics pick up loose dye easier than others, so it's a good idea to test several.) If there is a lot of dye coming out of the fabric, I will prewash it (with Synthrapol unless it's a solid fabric) to see if it stops bleeding.

I do not worry about fabrics that bleed just a little bit, because Synthrapol and water in the first wash will take care of those. It is the fabrics that bleed a *lot*, like the red fabric in the photo, that I want to take care of before cutting. I don't bother with Retayne anymore. If the fabric continues to bleed after two washings in Synthrapol, I don't use it in a quilt as most likely the dyes were not set properly in the factory. Fabrics that stop bleeding were simply over-saturated in dye and not rinsed sufficiently at the factory; I can take care of that at home.

I guess I like living on the edge, lol. Have only ever had a problem once, and that was resolved with re-washing. If I have a fabric that I suspect might bleed - anything deeplly colored, but particularly reds, purples and blacks, I will wet them and rub against a white cloth. Thus far, I've had one maroon LQS fabric that needed washing.

To further my risky lifestyle, once that was washed, I combined it in a quilt with unwashed fabrics! In other areas of my life, I'm pretty much a rule follower, but in quilting - well, not so much!

I am really lazy and hate to prewash too.... Now that I live in an apt complex where a wash & dry is $2.25 per load, YIKES !! Now a days, I never wash anything without tossing in a color catcher. Most of the quilts I use to make were for competition and I always preferred the look of fabric when it came right off the bolt.

I am a pre-washer about 90% of the time. I don't pre-wash bolts or precuts, and if I'm using a trusted fabric yardage with unwashed precuts I often won't pre-wash the yardage either.

BUT, it is a pain and I do NOT enjoy the process. Right now I have a backlog of fabric waiting to be washed. Probably at least 3 loads worth. Bleh. But I'm really glad it's done when I go to make a quilt.

I used to also press my fabric after washing it but now I don't. I have to press right before I cut anyway due to folding creases so I stopped pre-ironing too.

I wash all of my fabric so there will be no surprises at the end.

Like so many other posters, I feel this is just totally a personal preference issue. I prewash everything except jelly rolls, and the various square pre-cuts because I don't really like the smell some new fabrics carry, and I also want to limit shrinkage in my finished product. I also presoak and dry batting most of the time.

I don't prewash.

Strongly in the not wash category. Color catchers are the bomb and I use 5-6 in each wash and everything is fine. If I get a run I use oxy clean and out it comes. The runs I've gotten are from a quilt that was washed many times and one fabric decided to run. Wouldn't have helped to pre wash.

You know, I was thinking...if heat from the dryer sets runs and stains, wouldn't it help set dye in newly purchased fabric too? Without washing first, just throw it into the dryer and let it get hot?

I don't prewash. I have tested a few I thought might run and they didn't. Now I wash all finished quilts with color catchers. Also I don't starch. Do all of you prewashers wash everything new you bring home? Even if it isn't fabric? I guess if we had sensitivities I would but we don't. So washing is for more reasons than colors running?