Prewash fabric pieces?
 

Hi. I'm wondering whether I should prewash small pieces I'll be using to make a quilt. Some are factory precuts, such as some strips, some are various sizes and shapes. I prewashed some small pieces recently and they frayed terribly!
Thanks!

most of us do not wash pre cuts. some have put charms into lingerie bags and that helps with the fraying a bit. still would need to be pressed well after wash. small cuts should work well as they come.

salad spinner here too! double rinse

My approach is to hand wash and give them a good long soak (hours or overnight) to let any loose dye get free of the fabric. (If a lot of dye comes out, I do a second wash and soak.) Rinse thoroughly, squeeze out what water I can (I don't bother with tight wringing.) and hang to dry. Iron while still damp. It takes a little more hand-on time then just throwing things into the washing machine, but there's no fraying with this method.

Washing or not, is really a personal choice, I don't pre-wash my fabrics and have never had a problem with them as far as quilting, now, if you're talking making clothing out of the fabrics, then definitely I pre-wash.

I soak and rinse small pieces by hand, then put in a mesh bag and spin dry in the machine, hang to dry.

I only prewash flannel and yardage - never precuts because of the fraying. I am told you can stay stitch the edges to prevent the problem.

If you put them in your washer, be prepared to find a bunch of threads afterwards. I starch pretty much everything before I cut into them including pre-cuts but I dip them in my starch mixture and then put them thru my home-made wringer so small pre-cuts come thru almost flat and smooth. The rest of them I hang to dry and them press. Even putting yardage thru a wash machine is difficult due to all the loose ends becoming a ball of threads. Tried trimming the corner off as suggested and it didn't pan out well. I've serged the cut ends once upon a time but that's a lot of wasted thread and time but it did work. Again, now I just put thru my starch mixture and call it good.

I prewash all my fabrics - yardage and precuts. There is so much dirt and chemicals in fabric from the manufacturer. I hand applique so I use a lot of small pieces and a salad spinner works great.

I have changed my mind about washing precuts. I have always washed yardage for these reasons:

• I don't like surprises - strange shrinkage, bleeding.
• I want to minimize the chemicals in my life.
• I want clean fabric and don't want the dirt, germs, and dust that accumulates on fabric.
• If I put the effort into making a quilt, I don't want my quilt to change dramatically after the first wash.

Previously, It just seemed easier to use the precuts as is. Guess what, I really don't like the feel of unwashed fabrics. And all my reasons for washing yardage are also true for precuts!

Before using precuts, I am now soaking and using the salad spinner trick. I am happier and I like the results.

I usually prewash large pieces of fabrics but one time I washed a bunch of 10" squares and they all had some shrinkage to them. They were about 1/4" smaller than my other 10" squares. Just speaking from experience.

I am actually more worried about colour bleed or colour transfer. I rinse my fabrics in hot-as-my-hands-will-stand water. If a fabric bleeds colour, it gets more treatment. BTW that also takes care of shrinkage. Small stuff is laid out to dry or ironed dry. Big stuff is thrown in the dryer.

I think of 'precuts' like 'prefab' meals from the grocery store. Okay but not as good as home made. You bought a shortcut but you did not get the quality of product that you expected.

I NEVER wash anything that is not yardage. If you want to use the precuts to save measuring and cutting, you will exchange it for pressing and squaring up from the rather severe fraying.

I don't pre-wash my small cuts. Yardage is only prewashed if I am sending it out in a swap. I will wash first the cut into the size I need..

Handmade wringer?
 

Snooze2978 - I haven't heard of a wringer in forever. How did you make it, and how big is it?

I'm also more worried about the color bleed. I rinse pre cuts in hot water. If there is any bleed, I rinse again. When I think I have all the loose color out, I put them on paper towels just to make sure there is no more bleed.

I rarely buy precuts so it's not that much of an issue with me. I prefer to make my own strips and squares. No pinked edges to deal with and no off grain cuts. Just works better for me.