I only prewash when I think fabric might fade or bleed( hand dyes) Diane C.

try washing and rinsing in a salad spinner---can do all with out opening it till done and not as rough as a washer and spins them fairly dry too

No & why woud you if it's for a wall hanging??

I make quilts primarily for charities and would never think of making and sending one off without prewashing the fabrics in it. (And the quilt itself when it's completed). I don't want to donate anything that might sicken a child from the chemicals in the fabrics, or have the various fabrics shrink differentially or bleed from one color to the other and become a depressing mess. I think for wall hangings and other things like art quilts that are for display only that aren't needing to be washed and dried, then of course not prewashing is reasonable if we want to keep the fabrics new-looking.

Dana

I don't prewash. Period. Have never had any problems. Most patterns that use precuts will tell you NOT to prewash for just this reason.

BTW, to prewash or not is about as divided an opinion as you can get.

I do not wash my fabrics at all. I am a new quilter but find fabric is easier to ork with if I do not wash it. When I give a quilt to someone I give them directions on washing and enclose a Shout color catcher.

I just gently hand wash my charm packs in my kitchen sink and I don't wring them out. I air dry them on my laundry drying rack in the bath tub. The first time I washed my first charm packs I put it in the washing machine!!!! The fabric fraid so much I had to go buy more fabric there wasn't much fabric left. I really don't use charm packs to often.

i've thought about using one of these for prewashing. it looks like it would work well and probably wouldn't cause so much raveling and wouldn't be very rough on delicate items. has anyone ever tried one?

"http://www.lehmans.com/store/Natural...___23305?Args="

I'm with Suzanne - I prewash to remove the chemicals. I haven't experienced any side effects, but I don't want to either.

I also prewash for bleed and shrinkage. I wash reds and blues, and all batiks twice.

My fabrics are washed as soon as they enter the house, that way I never have to wonder "has it been washed", or wait to use it cause it hasn't.

For these reasons the smallest piece of fabric I buy is a fat quarter. I wash them on a "hand wash" cycle and dry them.

I never pre-wash fabrics because I son't like the way they feel and handle after they have been washed. I only buy premium fabrics (always on sale) and I usually only buy Moda and I've never had any problems with finished quilts shrinking above the 2 to 3% that the manufacturer warns about. Premium fabrics are colorfast and if I have any doubt I'll cut a small piece and soak it in warm water to see if it bleeds. I always wash in cold water on gentle cycle and dry on the lowest settling of my dryer. Most manufacturers don't recommend pre-washing pre-cuts.