Yes, I always wash and dry all my fabrics as soon as I get them home, fold over my ruler and put in my fabric cabinet.

I always wash my fabric before using. Except for fat quarters. they are so small that I do not bother.
Charlene

when i come in from the garage after shopping, i have to walk right past the washer & dryer.

all my fabric stops there, i wash everything in hot water & dry everything on cotton...

never had anything run or shrink after that....

course, sometimes after it gets upstairs to my sewing room, it sits for a while waiting for ironing & putting away...sometimes when i am too tired or distracted to concentrate, it makes soothing work to just stroke the fabric ...

Wow, I'm still confused abt washing material first. My sister in law owns a quilt shop and she has never washed her material first and has had no bleeds... maybe just lucky. Before i was really aware of quilt shops I bought abt 100 yards of material at Jo Ann's pre washed and ironed all of it and had no bleeds, also used white vinegar. I'm now getting ready to sew a purple and white quilt, did not first wash, Hope I didn't goof.

I wouldn't have thought it was the poor designer at fault but rather the type of fabric and ink/dye used.

Maybe1day

I only pre-wash reds to make sure they don't bleed. Otherwise, I don't wash until the project is completed. This gives it the nice wrinkly, puckered look that I like.

thanks for the tip abt cutting corners to stop fraying.

Like you, I have allergies. Any time I am around someone with perfumes or even some body wash soaps, I cannot breathe. New fabrics bother me too, especially those pretty fleeces. I was told by a fabric store worker that foreign countries are spraying fleeces with formaldehyde to protect the fabric from bugs during its travels and storage. Added to months of packaging in plastic only makes matters worse when fabric is opened. Now, if one has regular fabric which has been sprayed, then when you iron it during piecing, you are getting those formaldehyde fumes right into your body. I definitely wash everything.

I always wash fabrics to make sure the shrinkage is done. Especially if I am going to applique

cut a 2" square of your fabrics and pin it to a piece if white fabric then wash it in a pan and dry it. you can check for color runs and shrinkage without using a lot of water and labor.
that said we need a cheap place to buy the color catchers.