Washing fabric before cutting
 

I have a lot of fabric that I would like to cut into 2 1/2 " strips. Should I wash the fabric first or leave it like the precuts I purchase are.?

I don't prewash precuts, but I do wash my yardage before I start on a project. I know people who think I am silly and tell me that if I buy good material there is no need to prewash... but I still prewash yardage.. unless it is going to be used with precuts.

It all depends on if you are a prewasher. I'm not. I like the crispness of the new finish. Then I use Color catchers when I wash the finished quilt. If you are a prewasher, I would be prepared to iron and starch the fabric before I cut it into strips. I think strips are less forgiving of soft fabric that has been washed.

I'd leave it. These are pretty small squares and will work better with the precuts.

The only fabrics I prewash are batiks, I also starch any fabrics I'm going to be working with.

I always prewash if I can and thus buy few precuts. I don't like breathing in fabric dust with dye in it, so the more of it I can remove, the better. I wash twice with detergent and then dry. I have a few older fabrics that are outgassing anyway but I think I used to only wash once.!

I pretty much pre-wash everything due to contact allergy to sizing (my hands swell up) & the smell also will sometimes bother me if I have a bad migraine (the rest of the time, I don't think new fabric has a smell). Everything I buy, other than stamped wholecloth goes in the wash as soon as I get home. I was in cold water, Handwash or Gentle cycle & then will dry most of the way on Low heat & lay out or iron to dry the rest of the way. When I'm ready to use the fabric, I will iron & heavily starch it.

I do this for everything from 2.5" mini charms to 3 yard cuts. With good fabric, I find there is no discernible shrinkage & the only fabrics I worry about bleeding are batiks & non-commercially dyed fabrics. If you don't have allergies & don't anticipate the recipients will "abuse" the finished quilt in the laundry (i.e., wash it in hot water and/or tumble dry on medium or high heat), there really isn't a need to pre-wash LQS fabrics except for some batiks. It's a personal decision & you'll find as many people who do it the one way as the other.

I don't prewash but found that especially with batiks, you need to give the fabric a good pressing with a little starch before cutting.into strips

I pre-wash and dry to minimize the shrinkage in the finished project.
If you like that look, don't pre-wash.
I also iron and starch before I cut the pre-washed material.

If I was doing a wall hanging where it would not be washed, I wouldn't pre-wash.

Watson

I wash yardage but not pre-cuts. For that matter, I rarely use pre-cuts. IF I am mixing the two, I do not wash my yardage. I also leave my yardage in the quantity purchased until I am using it for whatever project. I'm just not creative enough to have a heap of x size pieces of fabric and then determine a pattern in which to use them.