I have to wash it because I am allergic to some of the chemicals that are in it. However, it is a personal preference.
Another reason to wash it - especially dark colors, is bleeding

its up to you-=some people do- some people dont'
no confusion required-
the reasons for pre-washing are-
1. to check for color-fastness (it sucks when you make a beautiful quilt all done-quilted and bound- wash it the first time and have one of the fabrics bleed- especially if there was alot of white in it and oops-now it's pink or blue-or whatever)
2. to pre-shrink the fabric - some people do not want their finished quilt to shrink at all-so they pre-wash to prevent this
3. to remove sizing/chemicals from the fabrics- when using fusable products you will have better luck if your fabric has been pre-washed- also if you plan to print anything on the fabrics- the sizing/chemicals effect outcome.

i'm sure there are more reasons- but those are the basic 3- now- you decide for yourself- do any of these reasons seem to be important to you?
are you useing reds- deep colors that may run?
are you using fusables that may not stick?
are you worried the quilt may shrink?
(btw--flannels shrink ALOT! and should always be pre-washed)

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-136146-1.htm Here's a link to my post. Now you can make an educated decision.
and more info: http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_..._and_smel.html

Be careful with batiks. I read somewhere on here that the first time you wash batiks, you just wash out the chemicals that set the dye. The second time you wash, you may release alot more die than the first time around. Batiks make me nervous

That said, I rarely prewashed until I read that many fabrics are imported and may have had rodents creeping across them. That was enough to send me to the washing machine for every project. (I don't buy stash fabric generally so I wash as soon as the items come into the house).

I don't prewash cause I like the way the fabric handles for me before washing. It's all a personal preference.

It's hard to believe that this is only one page
....and now I have rolled it over to the second page!!!

When in the past has this subject stayed so brief?

I am a prewasher.

I like to get as much of the chemicals out of the fabric as I can right away since they affect my eczema, I like to check for colour fastness and get as much bleeding out as I can right away and I like a smoother finish so I get as much of the shrinkage out of the way before I start cutting.

My mother always said that half a cup of vinegar (in a front loader, I can't remember her measurement for a top loader anymore) helped cut out chemicals and to set colours. It also gives a fresher scent to me and helps cut out odours. She always told me to put vinegar in the wash if towels had been allowed to get musty. Also, to wash in water as hot as you can, although not to use the hot water often because that will "help" your colours to bleed. The other thing she told me was that the worst of the shrinkage happens the closer you get to "dry" and as you "over dry" so I set my dryer to "extra dry" and then turn it back on for 15 more minutes. By then as much of the shrinkage as I can manage should be out.

Anyway, that's why I prewash and "how" I do it. LOL!

Tara

I didn't prewash in the past and I would get sick from the chemicals. Then I learned about prewashing and now I prewash everything. I press them and then fold for storage. When I am going to use them I starch and press again.

Prewashing also helps straighten the grain.

I don't prewash all my fabric but with all the chemicals and where it comes from, I probably should. I wash batiks for they seem to be the most likely to bleed.

Unless I think my fabric has gotten way to dusty etc then I will prewash but I prefer not to prewash. Why, when I don't prewash and I starch the squares they are stiffer and easier to work with. While prewashing has it's advantages it's a little harder to work with (even starched) in my opinion.