If it is a baby quilt I prewash to soften, otherwise I don't.

No washing here:) I too love the feel of unwashed fabric. It just isn't the same after washing.

Lynette

I don't pre-wash, I find it so much easier to work with unwashed fabric.

a fun question...i really do both...but i do not use hot water and detergent.
The next ques is where do you buy your fabric and why....just joking that starts a lot of arguing......

If you store a lot of fabric in a closed room it does smell of chemicals....but the bugs won't eat it as it is treated.... I do wash brights just before i use them.....treat your fabric like your best clothes
:D

I prewash fabrics that can be prewashed. But, when I buy pre-cut noodles or squares, they can't be prewashed. Most of my quilts go to Project Linus. And :oops: I smoke. So before I send any quilt to PL, I wash it twice--regardless of whether it was prewashed. I wash it once in regular detergent in a regular wash cycle since I figure that's the way it will be treated once it has been received by a child. I put Downy in the rinse cycle to make it soft. Then I wash it one more time using only baking soda in the wash cycle and plain water in the rinse cyce to get rid of the smell of the fabric softener and any remaining smoke smells. As soon as it comes out of the dryer, I put it in a sealable plastic baggie. I work with a lady who has the nose of a hound-dog and when she can't smell any residuals on the quilts, I send it to PL.

I know my "closed in cabinet" has a weird odor if it hasn't been opened for awhile....probably the sizing. I really think "good" quiltshop fabric doesn't have a lot of sizing in it.

i agree. i do too then i starch to return the crispness for cutting.
i use hottest water and then the dryer. if it bleeds, i wash 2x in hot water.
i have never tried a color catcher. what is that?

they are called "dye catchers" and are found in the dryer sheet section

Actually, it probably has a lot more. The VIP/Cranston fabrics are made in the US, so they don't get treated with pesticides. LQS fabrics are virtually all imported. That heavy, silky drape to quilt store fabrics is due to chemicals just as the stiffness in other fabrics is!

I prewash for chemicals and shrinkage. Moda, especially, shrinks a LOT.