I launder ALL of my fabric - but that's me! I made a quilt for my DGD and didn't launder the fabric, and the red bled onto the other fabrics. After that - I decided that I would wash everything. It took FOREVER and ever, but - I'm (hopefully) caught up. Now, as soon as new fabric arrives, the first thing I do is launder it in warm or hot water and try it. If the fabric is red or black (especially), I'll wash it a couple of times with extra rinses.

for everyone like you meyert, there is another exactly opposite. Been doing a survey for a couple of years. Hard to get 4 or five people at a time to agree. But your reasoning is sound & safe. If you've every pieced a quilt back then washed the quilt & as you pull it from the washer you find thousands of threads where the quilt back used to be you will prewash more. I pretty much prewash everything, even the good stuff, 'cause I wanna know what it is gonna do before I give it to someone. But I have spray starch to make it behave when it comes out of the dryer!

I don't think I would wash if you have a lot of them and small pieces. They will ravel horribly and then you've got a big mess to fix.

I prewash to prevent any shrinkage after the quilt is made, and to check for any dye bleeding. Yes, that does happen even with expensive fabrics.

I used to pre-wash my fabric, iron it and store it. But I found that I liked working with unwashed fabric better and now I do not pre-wash. I do mix washed and unwashed because I have them. After I finish a quilt I wash with color catchers-just in case. I, obviously, can no longer see a difference in the fabrics used. I use good quality fabric and have never had problems. I sew for a charity group that provides materials (cheap as possible because of budget constraints). The difference is astounding. There are a lot of considerations to buying and using fabric. You do get what you pay for.

I'm sort of like quilterpurpledog--I used to pre-wash my fabric, iron it, and store it, but I now greatly prefer working with unwashed fabric better. That being said, I work with flannel a lot and always prewash my flannel so that it shrinks up as much as possible before I cut into it. When I DO pre-wash, I prewash everything--fabric AND batting.

I do not pre wash any fabric it seems easier to cut besides I do not like to iron or starch

Thank You all for your replies. This board always helps me with any problems that I have.

i wash my fabrics even wash muslin that just me and what my quilt teacher taught us

I don't buy pre-cuts. Only had 1 jelly roll given to me - I did not prewash.
I always prewash all fabrics I buy, fold and put in my big closet on wire shelves.
I never use starch.