pre-washing?
 

I purchased pre-cut fabric from fabriceditions.com; my question is should I wash the pieces before cutting and sewing for a quilt? Or should I create the quilt and wash afterwards? I wonder how the fabric will hold up through washing? will it ravel very much? I really don't want to iron all the pieces before I can get started. thanks for any comments.

My rule of thumb is if the pieces are less than a fat quarter I don't prewash.

I wash after the quilt is finished when using precuts. Some folks go ahead and prewash them. With asthma, usually I make sure to wash fabrics as soon as they come home, but I'm afraid that prewashing small precuts would end up being a mess of tangles and frayed fabric. So I don't prewash the precuts. You could test a piece and see what happens.

Same here-I don't ever wash precuts. In fact, I quit buying precuts just in case I want to prewash. I generally don't but sometimes feel I want to depending on the project. For example, if I don't want the crinkly look or if I'm making something more fitted like a bag or an appliance cover.

I've washed smaller pieces, in lingerie bags, on gentle cycle. They did fray just a little but not enough to make a difference. I took them out of the bags, to tumble dry. I'm just one of those "crazy" people, who washes all fabric, before using it. :p

I do try to wash before using but it doesn't always happen. One reason I wash first is to reduce bleed. Nothing worse than to have a quilt ruined when it is washed when finished due to a colour bleed even with colour catchers in the machine.
A final wash before giving makes the quilt go puffy. I don't wash baby quilts I give them to mum to use her washing powder. I come from a family allergic to certain brands so would hate a baby have the same problem

I only prewash fabric if I am using it with other fabric that has been washed.

you will get lots of answers on both sides of the fence- there are people who pre-wash everything- regardless of size- there are some who pre-wash nothing ever- then there are some of us who pre-wash some of the time- with pre-cuts I generally do not pre-wash- if they are batiks or hand dyes and deep saturated colors I am worried may run I will do a color test to see (dampen a piece & rub a piece of white muslin or a paper towel on it to see if color comes off) my 'rule of thumb' for pre-washing is- if the fabric (whole yardage-not precuts) smells funky, feels funky, is stiff, might bleed, (batiks/hand dyes) , is a loose weave (needs tightening up a bit) I prewash- if it has none of these issues I may not- I do always wash my finished quilts- as soon as the binding is done- last step to a finished project is the laundering step. everyone has their own ideas concerning pre-washing. but I pretty much never pre-wash pre-cuts until they are used/finished

thanks for all the answers, I think I will not pre-wash :)
:o

Pre washing is a personal decision based on fabric type & circumstances. Batiks, for example, are already pre-shrunk, but some people like to pre-wash to remove excess dye. I personally rarely pre-wash. I don't have time enough in my life to quilt much less pre-wash & iron my fabric before hand LOL. But I can understand prewashing. it does make your quilts flatter. I personally like the shrunken look of quilts that are not prewashed so that the batting & fabric shrinks all at once. If I mix batiks & regular cottons, or regular fabrics & flannel, I would pre-wash to make all the fabrics "the same". whatever you decide, be confident & informed in your decision. You can pre-wash sometimes for a particular quilt & not for another, too.