Should you wash all of your new fabric? Some say yes others say no. I'm confused.

I think it is a matter of preferance. I do.

Try not wasing it before you use it and wash the finished quilt. See what you get!

I always wash fabric. Preperation is everything, just like in painting. It is part of the process. I enjoy hanging fabric on the line and watching it billow in a breeze and then taking it off the line and ironing it. It is akin to a ritual.
"The Begining Ritual"

Everyone has their own preference though and you can have yours.

One of my reasons is that I'm really not that great a quilter so the better I can make the fabric look..... :D
peace

i don't wash my fabric until i'm going to use it.

fabric today is treated to be fade resistant and mold resistant.

try it both ways and see what YOU think.

I wash

I washed yesterday. I was getting ready to use batiks in shades of rust. I laid some on a wet paper towel. The towel picked up some color, so everything went in the washer with color catchers. I hope that did it because the quilt will have a light background.

I stopped washing some fabrics because they didn't come out any different, though I do steam them when I press before cutting.

I feel the same way

Since I only buy for projects and not for stash, I prewash all my fabric before I use it. Don't wash FQ's or BOM pieces but I always wash yardage. Just what I learned from my early years of garment sewing and I want to know if I'm going to have 'issues' in advance if at all possible.

I've done both

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.

I don't prewash. I will wash when I am done with my project and I throw a color catcher in. They work great!

if you like the feel of new fabrics-over pre-washed fabrics it is easy enough to take the fabrics out of the dryer and spritz with either sizing or starch---for that crisp feeling again.

I prewash because of the chemicals in the fabrics. I don't need more chemicals in my body. When I am ready to use the fabric, I starch it, makes it easier to handle.

I'm a pre-washer for the reasons others have mentioned. I react to the chemicals in fabric, I want to catch bleeders before I put them with light colors, I want to know how the fabric holds up BEFORE I spend my time making something with it, I want to pre-shrink it.

Flannel will shrink a LOT - up to 7%, I have been told! Try measuring it before and after washing and you will be amazed. I wash it and dry it twice in very warm water and dryer.

All that being said, if you choose not to pre-wash, no-one will arrest you. It is your fabric, your quilt, so you get to decide the rules of the game!

I always prewash my yardage as soon as I get it home. I take it to the serger and serge the cut ends to prevent raveling and then in the machine it goes so when I am ready to use it I know it is ready to go.

I have found the hard way that unwashed solid red fabric may "bleed" on the adjacent fabric - I now wash all reds with Retayne before I even think about using it!!

If I want to make sure it won't shrink I wash it before hand. Right now I am working on a UFO that is out of 30's fabrics. I did not wash it because when I am finished I am going to wash the quilt and hopefully the fabric will shrink a little so I can get that old crinkled look. I want the quilt to look old fashioned.

It depends on how it is going to be quilted and the look you want. I personally like close intricate quilting and like the little bit of puffiness that I get without washing before quilting. But if you are going to tie your quilts or do quilting with large spaces I would wash first. But keep in mind if you wash your fabric - particularly backing fabric - you may experience considerable shrinkage (like 6")......ask me how I know this.....lol. Bought 3 yards of 108" wide backing fabric that shrunk so much it wouldn't fit my 103" wide quilt....lol. Thank God for Charisma who came to the rescue and added some fabric to make it work!

I wash because some of the red fabrics can be terrible bleeders. I don't want to have my quilt I give away to someone ruined by a bleeding fabric.

I had never pre washed, however I don't have a machine capable of washing a king sized quilt, and I don't trust laundromats. After reading about the chances of bleeding, I started to wash fabric. Right now I am using both red, and black. I stitch the ends to minimize threads/fraying and wash in a laundry bag with color catcher. Press the fabric while using spray starch that I mixed

I pre-wash my fabric before I use it.

In my first quilt class, we learned that washing fabric before you start a project is a must! I do it every time.

It's a personal preference. I don't prewash any fabric. Some say they prewash yardage but not FQs. I know why, but I wouldn't want to mix prewash fabric with unwashed fabric. I recommend prewashing any fabric that will be used with batik. The batik has been prewashed, so the other fabric should be too (I always forget this). Whichever way you do it, you should be consistent.

Normally, I do not wash.

I always wash, because so many here have said to do so. I'm too scared not to!

I prewash most all of mine, fqs & larger especially. A few charms packs I haven't, & just made little quilts with them, but I do like to prewash. I use the little lingerie bags for FQs, & cold water, gentle cycle, a little laundry soap & a little Downy. Then dry on low. Then I just fold it all nicely, & press as I use it. I use the color catcher sheets to if I even think something might run, but most often, nothing does. I recently started using some of that Best Press, when I have to press any fabrics & am finding I really love that stuff!...

I wash all my fabric as soon as I get home from the shop. that way I don't have to guess if it is washed or not!

I wash. I have had colors bleed . i don't want to ruin another quilt

I don't wash until the quilt is done - unless it is a dark batik - then I pre-wash to make sure I get the extra dye out so there will be no bleeding

I learned the hard way. I will always wash first since I have had the backing bleed thru to the front of a huge queen size quilt.