I prewash everything including my charms because the chemicals bother my hands. I brush the loose fibers off, then they go into a lingerie bag and into the washer which has had a touch of detergent and some white vinegar added (never had a color bleed). Cold water, gentle cycle. They get transferred to the dryer and then pressed with Magic Sizing. Mostly it's a little frayed edges and a tad off but nothing serious that I can't use and when I work with a five inch tumbler template or such it doesn't matter because the edges are cut off anyway. If there's a wide range of colors I do the darker ones with darker fabrics and the lighter ones in the bag with lighter fabrics. I consider it part of making my project. I mostly cut my own fabrics but some of those charms are so cute... :D

I hand wash mine in hot water/wool mix then spin out the water after I rinse them in clean water. I don't have many loose threads.This way the fabric not only shrinks but excess dye comes out. I then hang them on the line as I do not have a dryer. Once the fabric is dry I press each piece before putting them away. I do wash the pieces that bleed until they stop bleeding.

If you wash charm packs, you are going to have a huge mess on your hands. I would just wash the runner in cold water and lay it out to dry in the future. You won't have as many problems with the shrinkage.

I always wash my charm packs by hand then lay them out flat to dry then steam iron I never have any mess of strings or anything but some I do have to wash as many as 3 times to stop the bleeding our guild has an exchange of these and I do use then in nickle quilts so want to know all is OK

I don't pre wash any of my fabrics. I prefer to work on new fabric and wash after the quilt is made.

Hi Sue
I stopped buying charm packs unless they say prewashed. I spent good money on some and they frayed and shrank like crazy. I did make a quilt without washing first using the charm pack. It was a baby quilt and I worried it would fray or come apart. It is OK but I think because it was small. I tried delicate and the pillow case method, even by hand. It all depends on the quality of the fabric they use. Good luck with it. Lelia

I guess I just don't like all of those chemicals in the fabric as it causes my finger nails to crack and chip and also dulls the needles much faster than clean fabric but then again I never wear anything from the store until it has been washed either so just personal preference I guess