As to the fraying of smaller pieces being washed, I use a lingerie bag to put my small pieces in. They do not fray that way. I had a bad experience with bleeding (burgundy) and so now I always prewash.

If your dryer has a rack to use to prevent tumbling, it will aid in avoiding raveling of threads. I sometimes have to wash small scraps in mesh bags or pillow cases.....or even by hand...that I bring in from thrift shops or odd sources. I can then lay them flat on the rack to dry. Works fine. Have done lots of batik fqs and others in this manner.

I'm lazy. I prewash, that way I don't have to think about it. I also know that after I prewash it, anyone who receives a quilt from me won't have to worry about washing the quilt and ruining it. Any damage likely to occur to the fabric has already been done by me.
I just run a quick straight stitch along the cut edges of fabric before I wash them. It doesn't take much time and saves a lot of raveling.
Rodney

I pick and choose what prewash--a quilt shop owner explained to me that you can check for bleed by rubbing a white paper hard on the fabric--if you see any color, wash.

I am not a prewashers. If I suspect a bleeder I will soak a small piece in a cup of hot hot water to see..if it does out it goes! But now my question to prewashers. Some say as soon as they get home in the washer the fab goes......if you buy several different colors do you wash all together or separately? Do you go thru the whole wash, spin,rinse cycles? How much water, detergent. Then into a HOT dryer????? I must confess..when I do decide to make tablerunners I will soak the fab in a "dishpan" in the sink for a few minutes, then put on a clothes line in the laundry room to dry. I do this only because I do use a very thin poly batt and it does not shrink, so therefore all will be equal when washed.

I've had a bad experience with fabric shrinking, so I always prewash. It doesn't take much time to wash and iron yardage as you buy it. I don't use precuts so I can't offer an opinion there.

I don't pre-wash. I buy good quality fabric and jellies. I believe in being consistent. I wouldn't wash a jelly roll so I wouldn't wash the other quilt fabric. I like new as well. Other than a child/baby quilt, how often are quilts really washed? Emily

In my house they're USED, so they are washed like any other bedding or household item that needs it. The only quilts that don't get frequently washed are hanging on the wall. If they're on the bed, couch, chair etc. they get washed!

I prewash everything, too. . .even fabric for art quilts. This allows those iron-on designs to transfer more easily to fabric. And should I wash the wall quilt in the future, I don't have to worry about shrinkage.

I should have known it wouldn't work, or else everybody would be doing it! Thanks for the info. :)

Oh goodness...we have 3 dogs and 2 cats and they're always slumped on our laps. Our quilts are washed very frequently; some of the lap quilts in the living room get washed at LEAST every other week, if not weekly. Bed quilts get washed less often (animals aren't allowed up on the bed) but at least 2x per year.

I got some great evidence as to why prewashing is a good idea recently and it made me think of this thread... DH & I were buying a whole lot of yardage to make a bunch of new curtains and when they unrolled the fabric TWO SILVERFISH came darting out. Ugh!!! Seeing that made me grateful my quilting stash is all pre-washed, otherwise my imagination would have me thinking it's all crawling with bugs and bug poop. Yuuuck! The fabric we bought isn't washable (groan) so it's sealed up in a plastic bag with some cedar sachets right now "just in case" we missed any creepy crawlies. Once the curtains are made I will probably have them dry cleaned because even though I can't see it or smell it I'm sure there's bug poop in there.