Washing fabric
 

Good Morning. Newbie (fairly) to quilting and I would love to hear from y'all about washing fabric before starting a quilt or not? I find it to be a pain but I'm scared of colors running after the quilt is done. I've just finished a red and white quilt and am scared that the dark red will bleed. Thought I buy a detergent specifically for cold wash. What do you do?

When I wash fabric I wash it in hot water with a color catcher and dry in a hot dryer. I don't want any surprizes after the quilt is done.

I prewash my fabric using the same settings at which the quilt will be washed: warm water and dryer. If the quilt is meant to be hung on the wall, then I don't bother prewashing at all. I handle precuts the same way, but I put them into a mesh bag first.

I wash before I am going to cut it out. I have a huge stash and do not wash anything until I have picked out the fabric and am ready to cut. I have some of the best fabric possible and it has bled and bled in my kitchen sink. I even washed a quilt top I bought at a yard sale and it bled the red onto the white and I did use a color catcher in the washer with it. I use color catchers all the time but I would never make a quilt without washing the fabric first. Yellow, green, red and purple always bleed the most for me. My last quilt cost me $200 to make and I used Joann's fabric and everything I bought was on sale, still a lot of money to waste if the colors ran and ruined it.

Hot water wash with color catchers followed by hot dryer when my fabric first walks in the door. It's my routine. The chemicals on the fabric really bother my fingers so I have to wash.

From my clothing making days I used to do this routine 3x before I cut anything. However, I have come out of that stage! :D

I Wash all my fabric before it goes in my closet then I know whatever is in there has already been washed

Howdy and welcome, from Texas! I wash all of my fabric, before putting it into my stash. Aside from the color bleeding issue, many fabrics are wound onto the the bolt, crooked. Yes, even LQS fabrics! Washing/drying returns the fabric to it's natural state, so there's no surprise, after it's sewn. I wash in warm water (as I would the finished item). I check the water, as it's washing; if there's any color in it, I give the fabric a second wash . . .or however many it takes, for the wash water to be clear. I have a piece of indigo denim, which kept bleeding after 14 washes (yes, I counted them)!!! I gave up, after the 14th wash and will just use it for a dog bed.

I just took a class from a national quilt teacher. She doesn't wash her fabric. She showed us a batik quilt that got washed four times in a row with a color catcher.

Bleeding fabric really isn't the problem. The fabric that picks that dye up out of the wash water is really the one that's the problem.

And I must be about the ONLY one that does NOT pre-wash her fabric. I have to say, I have never done this, not even years ago, when making clothes.

I just finished a queen rag quilt, with at least 30 different fabrics (all bright colors) and washed it with 3 color catchers and no problem at all. And the back of this quilt is an off-white Kona .... no bleeds or runs at all.

jody

One question - why hot water? Would room temperature water - just off the tap - be good enough? (I'm not talking winter times!)

You're not alone. I don't prewash most of the time. Only if I am using a red fabric, will I prewash. That is the only color that I have ever had a problem with.

Hot water and Hot dryer encourages the shrinkage and bleeding ...........

I personally only wash what I think will run. Always RED for sure, especially if I am going to pair with white. Some batiks......but as a general rule NO I do not wash......
Regarding the quilt you just finished, do you have any of the red left over, put it in a sink with cold water and see what it is going to do.....that may take some of the surprise out of the equation.

Ah...as many answers as there are quilters. :)

Everything that comes home is washed - warm water with color catcher and dried in the dryer. Then it's ironed and put on a comic board with information as to manufacturer, collection, width and yardage. The only exception to washing has been pre-cuts which I tend to avoid for just that reason.

You'd think reds are the key bleeding colors, but I've had lots of color catchers colored from greens and purples.

I never prewash EXCEPT for REDS! and with them I only just put a small sample about 8x8 in a hot water bath in clear jar to see if the color bleeds SO in your case I would find a Scrap of your Quilt fabric and do this test BEFORE you wash this Quilt!! And IF it makes the water turn red or pink you should try the Color catchers maybe 2 or more if your quilts big. :)

I wash my fabric before starting a quilt. If I don’t my nose and neck get itchy while sewing. I guess I’m sensitive to the dyes or protective coating on the fabric. Someone told me it may also be caused by the fumes of the pest management product used by the quilt shop. A warm gentle wash cycle takes care of it.

I know a lot of quilters do not pre wash and have no problems. I have always pre washed for all the reasons listed above (don't ask me about the one time I got brave and didn't)! I may not be the best quilter, I may not buy the top of the line fabric brands, but I do put a lot of time, effort, and love into my quilts. and hate to see all that be ruined, so taking the extra time to wash and iron it is no problem for me.

Hi and welcome from NE Ohio. No I don't generally wash my fabrics.

You will get many different opinions about whether to prewash or not. I personally do because the manufacturing process (most fabrics are made in China or the far east) uses chemicals. Also, the fabrics are treated with pesticides so no unwanted critters are brought into the country in shipping containers. It's just a preference for me.

It all comes down to personal preference. I now wash my fabrics before I cut because of the chemical smells in them, but the main reason, is I like to see how the fabric reacts to laundering. I wash them just as I do my regular laundry, warm wash and medium dry.

I prewash yardage, but not pre-cut bundles. So many of the pre-cut patterns use every available inch of the bundle, and if they shink when you pre-wash then the measurements are all off.

Me too here. No pre-wash, except for flannel.

I'm a washer - I wash everything before it goes into my stash. I say better safe than sorry!

i DO NOT PRE WASH I think the fabric is better with the colors bleeding I do use color catchers when I wash the quilts.

I am pretty new to making quilts, I have made 5. The 5th one I just finished, it is one that my mother and I worked on together as a gift for my grandmother for her 90th birthday this October. I have never pre-washed my material for any of the quilts and always washed them with color catchers and they have been just fine......until this last one.....washed it with 2 color catchers (it is throw size) and it has red fabric in it and some white fabric and the red bled on the white. I was devastated when I pulled it out of the washer so I frantically started searching "google" for help on what to do. We tried oxi clean on the stain and nothing happened. Then we used a solution of equal parts, ammonia, liquid dish soap and water, sprayed it on the spots and scrubbed with a toothbrush and could see that it was definitely lightening it. Let it sit with that solution for about 15 min. then washed it again using Borax and said a prayer! So happy it came out great, no more red stains!!! So very very relieved......from now on I will always pre-wash reds!!!

Never have washed my fabric before using it. Maybe will wash bright reds after reading all these stories. Kinda scary.

I only wash reds. I do wash and dry the quilt when finished with a couple of color catchers. Never had a problem with color bleeding on the quilt.

I always wash mine as soon as I get home with it. I have the washer going now with some I bought this morning.Had a bad shrinking and running problem years ago when I forgot to pre wash, so I have been very careful to wash after that.

For those that only wash fabrics selectively, particularly "only the reds" ................ bleeding fabric is not limited to Just Reds.

Just saying!

I've had at least one of almost every color be a bleeder!

I DO NOT pre-wash my fabric except for red, black and blues and I soak them in Retayne before I put them into a hot wash. The amount of color left over in my sink with these colors is enough to create a rainbow.:eek:

I have 3 boys so I already have enough laundry to do, the last thing I want to do is pre-wash my my hobby. That takes all the fun out of it.:p

I wash everything. I never know what I am going to make with it. I frequently make little bags that I use a light weight fusible stabilizer with. It does not stick well to fabric with any sizing/starches or finishes.

I don't prewash. I've washed a red before, but don't even do that any more. I don't like working with mushy washed fabric and certainly don't want to have to starch and iron it before I can sew.

I have been making quilts since 1975, I have never prewashed my fabrics, and have never had a problem.

YOu are not alone!
I'd far sooner find out and deal with it before cutting and sewing ..... than to have disaster strike later on after I've put hours into a project and $$$$$$$$ for all the fabrics, batting, etc.

I prewash everything. While bleeding colors are an issue, I'm more concerned about shrinkage. I have noticed that all my quilting cottons, with the exception of batiks, shrink along the width of fabric, some as much as 2". I have found this to be true even with name brands. They don't seem to shrink at all along the length. I'm concerned that if I use the fabric without prewashing, my quilt will be distorted because the shrinkage is only in one direction.

I prewash all. Don't want any surprises after all that work. I have only so much time to piece for myself after LA work. I even prewashed Hoffman Bali pops. Good thing, too. Did it in the sink with Hot Water and Retayne. Learned a lesson there. Had to use bleach to get dye out of sink. Took 2 washes of Retayne and 2 rinses. Spun out water a few strips at a time in a salad spinner and hung on clothes rack to dry. Then pressed (not ironed). Now I am happily piecing worry free.

Hadn't tried it yet, but bought me some color catchers.

If a fabric I wash bleeds I put a handful of canning salt in the warm water. This helps set the color according to my Mom who has done it for years.

I very seldom ever prewash my fabric before using it. I like working with it when it still feels new!