I totally agree. If there is going to be any problem, I'd rather have it happen on my watch than on the recipient's.

I don't even consider a quilt "done" until it has been washed. So far, I've not had a seam pull out. My thing is no matter how hard I try, I NEVER get all the quilting threads buried the first time. I will always find at least one long thread to bury.

On my! That you so much for this thread...... I haven't always washed my quilts before giving them away but I will change now that I've seen the horror stories. I did just finish a quilt for my daughter and washed it before shipping it to her. It was a cathedral window and with all the hand stitches, I wanted to be sure nothing came unsewn. It held up well..... so I shipped it. Then, when she got it she said, "I'm afraid to use it.... all the thousands of stitches.... I don't want to ruin it". So I was able to tell her.... I've washed it... it held up..... it should be fine and if something comes apart... I'll fix it.

Oh dear, I've not noticed open seams after washing a quilt. I do wash before gifting. When I have a skimpy seam when piecing, I've been going back right above the skimpy part to add additional stitching to reinforce that part. And I'm not a prewasher. Luckily I've not had noticeable bleeding on anything. Thank you Retayne and color catchers!

I do the same - I think I would regret it if I didn't - its always nice to have a clean quilt to give. Also, I press the quilt after washing - it just adds a little extra crispness to the quilt.

I have never washed a quilt before gifting, I like the smooth look of new. But after reading this thread my views have changed! Thank you for posting this!

I'm a member of the Prewash Club to for those very reasons. Thanks for posting this.

I am so glad I decided to post my horror story LOL. If it saves even ONE gift from being ruined it is well worth it !

I wash all my quilts ( mostly charity quilts) with unscented detergent and fabric softener. We have problems with all scented products. Especially if going to a health care facility this is important

Now that I've had a chance to see how much fabric shrinks I wash the fabric before using it and as soon as I finish a quilt it'll go right into the washing machine before it goes anywhere else. We have dogs and I want the quilt to be clean. Also by the looks of things I'll need to do a thorough inspection before I can say it's done. Thanks for your post, you probably saved me some trouble.
Rodney