i have noticed from the threads on "how neat are you" that many prewash and iron new fabric before using. the only fabrics i have done this with are ones that i am afraid will run like black, red, purple etc. is it really necessary? what if 1/2 of fabric in quilt is prewashed and other pieces are not. will it "shrink" unevenly? I am just curious b/c I have been told both ways - wash and not wash.

I always wash my fabric.

My older fabric was all washed; not so fabric bought in the last few years.
Have used them together, no problems.
If I'm making a dark quilt, I don't even bother prewashing fabrics I know will bleed.

I'm too lazy to wash my fabric! It's all I can do to keep up on the laundry.

I would either prewash everything or nothing. I would hate for some of the fabric to shrink and not the others after the quilt is completed.

Always wash my fabrics before using. Recently made a baby quilt and reached into the drawer and snipped fabric from a fabric collection that was tied together with a ribbon and tag. Didn't occur to me that I hadn't washed nor used any of my charm packs or jellyrolls because they are put together in such a tidy package. Also, had used adhesive spray to baste the quilt (it was great) and decided to wash the quilt when completed because it was going to a newborn -- that unwashed fabric bled. So sad. Still haven't figured out what to do with the jellyrolls, etc. because they will be difficult to prewash.

I always wash my fabric.

Don't bother to wash my fabric unless it is a batik.

Its really depends on the look that you're going for. If you really like the old antique look then don't wash. More shrinkage = more puckering. I do also like that look, but still wash and let the cotton batting then do the puckering for me. Still a little bit of pucker which is enough for me.

I wash, dry and fold - I don't iron or starch until I'm ready to use.

Try retayne. Was it "home" dyed fabric? I bought some yrs ago and am scared to use it eventhough I treated it with retayne.

I did not realize that you should not prewash if you like the wrinkled look. I do like that look. So the first couple of yrs when I quilted I faithfully washed and shrunk everything but now I faitfully do not unless I purposely don't want that look. I might also be more prone to wash cheap fabric and muslin because they might shrink an abnormal undesired amount.

I love the antiqued wrinkled look for my scrappies! But, an allergy to the formaldehyde in the fabrics has forced me to go through all my stash and prewash it!
After 647 yards, I now will be one of those that recommends it to everyone!

I'm with you Melinda. I only wash for a swap or RR

I test dark colors to see if they are colorfast. If they are not, I will prewash all fabric for that quilt. Otherwise, I do not prewash. Too much like doing laundry -- not my favorite thing!

I wash my fabrics first because they smell. Gets rid of excess chemical odors!

I've mixed washed and unwashed in the same quilt. I couldn't tell them apart after the quilt was washed.

I always wash mine too!

I always wash mine to remove the chemicals in them. Don't want to give someone (baby?) a quilt with toxins in it or insect eggs or whatever. Fabrics coming from some countries come here in huge containers and are sprayed for insects when the container is opened. That's why I wash. If I want it to look puckered I will just have to be satisfied with the batting doing the shrinking for me.

I don't pre-wash my fabrics with the exception of flannels. Always, Always pre-wash flannel fabrics.

Always always always wash fabric and then use lots of Mary Ellen's Best Press to press. I had colors bleed onto white fabric one time - made me sick after all that work. So unless the pattern tells me to use unwashed fabric, it gets washed. Also there is formaldahyde, bug chemicals, and dye chemicals that I just don't want to be handling. It is a little more trouble but I think it's worth it.

Wash all fabrics before using them in a quilt. They have excess dyes and chemicals. Each fabric shrinks differently when washed. Its best to preshrink all fabrics so this does not effect the quilt when it is washed for the first time.

I made a D9P quilt this winter when it was snowing and I just wanted to get started. Some fabrics were washed, some not. I quilted it in a meander, with wool batting, and when I washed it, I could not tell which fabric was washed and which was not. It was just fine! Washed it with a Shout "color catcher' and nothing ran, either.

When I use jelly rolls etc. I wash the quilt with synthrapol and toss in a couple of the dye magnet sheets. That usually takes care of any bleeding from the unwashed fabric strips.

I WASh EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF ALLERGIES

Jellyrolls - Bought my first one last week. Leave as purchased with tie on.I washed it by soaking in the sink with soap for a couple of hours. Because there is such a mass of material I wanted it all to get wet. As it was soaking bubbles came up from the center,much like a potted plant does when very dry then watered. Took out of water and rolled to squeeze water out. Repeated with double rinsing. Then I left in sink on a strainer so it was a little higher then sink, till most of moisture dripped out. I dried by laying strips flat on table outside. Very little raggy. Don't know if that is right word, but only way to describe. No distortion of color. I did use hot water.

I think it was a little time consuming but it is what I need to do. I did this in bathroom sink, so everytime I went in I did next step. I usually cut my own strips. There was a lot of little pieces in the sink, mostly points from pinking.

Hope this helps others.

Washing first will set the color, get rid of the icky "new" smell, pre-shrink, and allow you to know exactly what you're putting into your quilt. It doesn't take long to press and starch it, and I think it's really worth it since you're going to put an awful lot of time and effort into the rest of the quilt.

I wash all fabrics before I take them to my sewing area, but I don't iron anything until I'm ready to use it. I figure that it's just going to get fold lines from being in my fabric cabinet while it's waiting to be "chosen"!

sue

Sometimes you want that shrinkage for effect. So it is always a matter of choice. I always prewash with a grab-it sheet to make sure colors won't run

I have always wash mine too but it is up to you! You could try it both ways & see what is right for you!

I found that it is not all the dark colors that bleed. I have had pale blues, yellows, as well as some patterned fabrics have bled. So now I wash every thing in HOT soapy water. Yes hot---if it is going to bleed it will then. Not every one washes in cool water and by doing it in hot I can make sure that once in a quilt I will not have any problems once made up. I add vinegar and salt to the water and let it cool that way it sets the dye. I starch and iron it before putting it away. I usually store unwashed in a container until I have enough fabric to wash.

It is one lesson I learned, I didn't pre wash some fabric and what I sewed came to pieces! I had to re do what I was doing and washed, pressed then sewed again! so all fabric I get will be pre washed and pressed before I do anything! and yes some of the fabric smells cause its been alid up for so long! need to work with clean fabric.
Mary

How much vinegar? how much salt?

Vinegar or salt will not set modern chemical dyes. They are mordants for organic dyes.

Lots and lots of people will claim a fabric stopped "bleeding" after they washed it with vinegar or salt. It would have stopped "bleeding" anyway since it was just excess dye that washed out.

So what do you use, to set batiks? Do they use modern dyes?

Yes, they use modern dyes for batiks. Batiks tend to have a lot of unset dye left in them because they're boiled to get the wax out and they don't always get them rinsed really well.

The only way you can set a modern dye is with a chemical mordant. Retayne is a chemical mordant.

One of the things to keep in mind, is even if a fabric "bleeds" and it's picked up by another fabric that dye isn't set and will generally wash out in one or two washes.

Also keep in mind that the vinegar you buy in the grocery store is only 5% vinegar to start with at the most. When you put a cup of vinegar in a washer that holds several gallons of water you're dilluting it to less than a 1% solution.

So how many washes would you do for Batiks then? The last time I did rinsed my batiks, they were still bleeding a little in hot but not cool.

I don't pre-wash batiks. I don't want to spend my time washing fabric. I want to sew.

I just use a color catcher in the wash with a finished quilt and if I give it away I send some color catchers with it.

yea that is what i do - add a color catcher and send some along with it with quilt washing instructions.

I am one of the yes I do pre wash now. It is heart breaking to finish a quilt with lots of hand work and find it is not color safe when you wash it.

I just spent a whole month washing and pressing fabric. I am very close to being finished now. But, I love the whole different smell of my room. I wish I had done this as I went along.

I also use color catchers but I wash my fabrics with the family laundry. If I don't have a full load I add a couple of pieces of fabric. thanks for metioning not ironing until ready to use that will save me some time. Also how do you wash large pieces with out having a tackled mess

That has been my dilemma. I like to keep the fabric in one piece so that I can cut the length for borders and bindings.

BHW, I like the idea of adding fabric to the laundry.