Hi, as i am new to this and just buying some fabric now, i am wondering that if i do wont my quilts to be washable and when they do get washed, i dont wont them to shrink in anyway. do i wash to make sure.
do i wash the batting.?

I prewash and dry everything before I 'let it' into the house.

Even when I buy from a store, I can't be sure that the store is not infested with bed bugs. If that wasn't a concern, I would still prewash, but it would wait until I am ready to use the fabric.

I prewash everything. If something is going to happen to the fabric-- bleed, fall apart ect. I want to know before I go through all the work of making a quilt.

I wash everything before I make anything so I know what the shrinkage is going to be, not to mention to prevent bleeding. Gets rid of all the chemicals in the fabrics, too.

thankyou for your help i shall now start the long process and i just brought heaps of material.. lol

thx jane

I don't prewash unless a fabric is a "bleeder" and needs to be treated with Retayne to make it colorfast. However, if you want nothing to shrink then you do need to prewash all of your fabric and also need to use a polyester batting. (Polyester batting doesn't shrink.)

My preference is for the antique "crinkled" look. I don't prewash fabrics (unless a fabric is a bleeder and needs to be treated with Retayne to set the dye) and use 100% cotton batting. Everything shrinks up together about 3% in the first wash, giving the crinkled look that I like. I also like the fact that cotton batting becomes softer every time it is washed, so that an old quilt is even softer than a newly made quilt.

If you do decide to prewash your fabrics, it is a good idea to starch them afterwards to restore some crispness and stability to the fabric. Starched fabric is easier to cut accurately and easier to piece accurately. Washed fabric is limp in comparison because all of the sizing used by the manufacturer has been removed.

I don't prewash and have had no problems thus far. And yes, I like the crinkled look.

thankyou on the starch answer. i shall need to buy that too.

I do not pre-wash unless I'm concerned about it bleeding. I wash all my quilts before I give them away. I like the 'antiquey' look.

I prewash all fabrics, then starch and iron them. I get the crinkled look by washing the quilt when it is finished, and the batting shrinks just enough.
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