AMEN!!!! Great List for all of us to remember

Great list but as far as number 1, I just wash them with vinegar and salt then use them with blenders of similar colors---you can't see the bleed and even if it shows, it's a blender, who cares? I don't ever use them with whites or bieges. Also, if they bleed in the washer the fabric they bled on becomes a blender or something to cut into small pieces.

Thanks for the list. I was wondering, when you test the running of a fabric, are you doing so in cold or hot water?

I've come to the conclusion that I will not convince the "do not need to prewash" folks that it is a good idea to prewash - and they will not convince me that "there is no need to prewash before cutting"

We will just have to agree to disagree about this - and continue to do what we feel works for us.

(Although I will admit to hoping that they get one stinker of a fabric that convinces them to change their minds :twisted: )

Number 1 I learned the hard way with a ruined lovely baby quilt. I had it quilted and bound and fortunatedly decided to wash it before I gave it away.

Good list! You've been quilting awhile. LOL

For #1, a small investment in Retayne may save the fabric from being thrown away. If a fabric bleeds, I wash it in Retayne and then test it again; occasionally it needs a second washing in Retayne. Retayne permanently sets dye so that it stops bleeding. Here is a link to Retayne on Amazon, but there are many other places to purchase it. Many quilt shops carry it now.

http://www.amazon.com/Craft-Retayne-.../dp/B001HZOZGW

(The size I linked will treat many, many yards of fabric.)

Also, instead of pre-washing a fabric I just test a small piece of anything I suspect might not be colorfast. That way I need to pre-wash only "bleeders"; saves a ton of time.

I don't think it matters a whole lot. A bleeder fabric will bleed into either one. I do think it's a good idea to both examine the water *and* rub the wet fabric against a piece of white fabric. The former is the way to see bleeding; the latter is the way to see "crocking" (transfer of dye from one fabric to another by means of rubbing).

I should mention that I always wash my finished quilts in Synthrapol the first time so that, if there is any mild bleeding from a fabric, the bleed will be rinsed away instead of settling into another fabric. I also do not let the quilt rest on itself while damp to ensure that there is no "crocking" of dye.

I have gone into the mind-set of "young mom finds quilt has been soaked in (anything that comes out of babies) for hours and throws it in the washing machine to get (anything that comes out of babies) out of it - and the only thing she will probably add to the wash is detergent."

BRAVO!!!