Wash before entering in County Fair?
 

I have only been quilting three years. I have finished a queen size quilt and considered putting it in the County Fair. Should I wash it? And what do the judges look for? Thanks for all suggestions!

I wash every quilt as soon as it's finished to get the starch out and leave it nice and clean. However, if your quilt has no issues that require washing then you don't need to do so. Reasons to wash would be if there are quilting marks that need to be removed, if the quilt is dirty or has an odor (such as from smoke or pets), or if the quilt isn't quite flat and square and would benefit from blocking. The reason not to wash would be if you don't want the batting or fabrics to possibly shrink up, or if you're worried about the colors running in the wash. I don't think the judges would grade a quilt down because it has or hasn't been washed.

I agree about not washing first if there are no issues. It will look crisper at the fair. Best of luck!

I entered a quilt into the county fair last year and I didn't wash mine. I wanted it to be flat.

I'm not sure all what they were looking for, but definitely make sure there aren't any stray threads or lint - I lint-rollered mine before I brought it but the lady I was turning the quilt into had me step aside and pick over it again because she spied a couple of threads I had missed. (Which was really nice of her to point out to me!)

When I got my quilt back, (and I won a 4th place ribbon!), the notes they gave me were very general. They liked my use of color the most. They had also jotted down the dimensions of the quilt and noted that it was squared up properly so that must be one of the things they check for.

I was entering in the "novice" category though. They might be a lot more picky if you enter in the "experienced" category (assuming your fair has similar divisions...)

Good luck!!!

Unless there is a reason to (marks, etc.) I don't think I would wash before putting in a show. It seems like most of the quilts (with the exception of old quilts) don't look like they have been washed when I see them in shows. If I were gifting or anything else I would wash before.

I never washed nor had any need to wash a quilt before entering it into competition. What I found in larger shows, they will really scrutinize your bindings. Just do the best to make sure the quilt is clean and lint free with no thread ends anywhere and all markings have been removed. Very rarely did I get any notes back from the judges.

Try to get a copy of the rules for entering a quilt at the fair and go from there. If possible I would prefer not to wash mine before showing as they are nice and crisp and hang better.

No, don't wash it before a show. There are so many criteria that judges use, and a lot is subjective based on the preference of any particular judge. Mainly they look at overall impact in color and design, then piecing accuracy (perfect points, seams lined up across sashings, etc), quality of the stitches in the quilting (they will scrutinize the back), density of the quilting (enough, too little or too much in their opinion), quality of the binding (full of batting, precision of the miters in the corners, properly done joining point not just one end slipped inside the other). If you want to see a lot of bloggers and websites talk about it and get judging sheets from major shows, just google "quilt judging criteria".

I entered a quilt in a county fair show and it had been washed but when I got it back it had a comment on it that said "please wash your quilt before entering" I had painted some fall leaves on the quilt and then used a sealant to keep the colors from washing out and it made the quilt stiff in certain areas but it wasn't dirty. So I guess there are pros and cons to washing it.

I would not wash the quilt before the show unless it really needed to be washed. Dunster summed up nicely the conditions under which you would want to wash it. I think it would look crisper, and wouldn't have the wrinkly look that some quilts get after washing. (not that wrinkly is bad, but it suggests an older quilt).