I always wash and dry any fabric I buy. Because years ago I made a nice pair of pants out of double knit fabric - everyone told me that that type of fabric does not shrink. WRONG!!!!!! My slack shrunk 1 inch in length when I washed them after I had worn them and they needed washing!!! So, since then I wash and dry every typed of fabric that I bring home -- IF it is going to shrink - I want it to shrink BEFORE I cut it out.

I do wash/dry muslin and flannels--never met with one that does not shrink! Others are "iffy" sometimes yes and other times no--depends upon the fabric

Most of the time I wash on the gentle cycle with just a little detergent. Seems to work.

I wash all my dark fabrics with Retayne first in very hot water and then with a very small amount of Woolite dark in cold water. A lot of the quilts I make are gifts and I know that people are going to wash them eventually. So I try to make them colorfast before they have to worry about bleeding.

I always wash the fabrics, with soap, and usually add vineger where the liquid softener goes. I learned to sew at age 8 and was always taght to wash everything! I also do it becase I have an allergy to the fabric dyes when they are "fresh off the bolt". It seems to be "quilters preference"! Happy Quilting!

I wash flannels but none of the other fabric that I have used.

I have never prewashed my quilt shop cotton and have never had a problem. I do wash any that I buy at yard sales or thrift shops. My question is, can you mix them in a quilt? I have kept them seperate in my stash as I was trained not to do that. I will wash the new fabric first if I need to combine them in the same quilt. So now I wonder if it wouldn't be easier to just wash them all .

I always wash and starch my fabrics but only when I'm ready to use them. I use detergent but not softener. I've been surprised how 'out of shape' some of the yardage is after washing and am glad I did wash before cutting! When the fabric is starched and ironed, it has a lovely feel to it!

I think that fabric "relaxes" into its natural state after washing and that some of it gets distorted in the packaging process.

I "wash" all my fabric by a quick soak in the hottest tap water I have. Wring it out and pop into the dryer till almost dry. Then off to iron it. IF I can't do this right away I put a piece of painters tape with NOT WASHED on it. My college level quilt professor employer said ALWAYS wash fabric first. So, that is what I do. If not washing works for you - great!!!

I know a lot of people use special quilting laundry soap for washing their quilts, but I wash with normal everyday laundry detergent ecause that is what the recipient of the quilt is actually going to do with it.

Thank you, thank you. I only prewash once in a while and have seldom had a problem either. I also am too lazy to wash everything.

I've always washed any fabric that I sew with, though I seem to do differently to everyone else.

All I do is soak in the wash tub with warm water for maybe 1/2 hour, no soap or anything else, then just dry in the shade.

I've always been told why wash when it's not dirty, just soak in water for shrinkage!

Once upon a time I laundered every piece of fabric before I put it away. No matter what I paid for it, it raveled and all those loose threads drove me wild. So, I started putting the fabric away as soon as I got home and never had any trouble at all, no matter what I paid for it or where I got it.

I made a quilt for wounded soldiers two or three years ago and the requirement was that the finished quilt had to be laundered.
No problem with the red, white and blue fabric.

Do whatever you feel comfortable with and have time for. froggyintexas

I wash and here is one of the reasons why. Yesterday I used a coupon to purchase 10 yds of perma press all cotton muslin, great dealas it came to $1.00 per yard, however the formaldehyde smell was so strong I had to wash before using, didn't want to since I didn't want to cut the 10 yds, but it was too much to handle later after washing and drying, but the odor just about drove me out of my sewing room.

Ditto this for me.

I always pre-wash. I put it in a small laundry with a Color Catcher and then just throw th whole bag in the dryer. I am surprised all with all the dyes in the color catcher. I also heard (I think on this board) that there are chemicals that manufacturers add to fabrics such as fornaldehyde and I don't want that in my quilts. It means I have to iron it but I think it's worth it.

I don't wash my fabric until the quilt is finished ( sometimes not even then, if it goes on a wall). That way, the batting and material are easily washed together. Less fuss, less hassle, less work in my opinion. I have never had a problem with bleeding of fabric, but don't usually buy the stuff that I think might do it.

Hope your skin did not suffer from the handling of material like that. I always make sure new clothes (made in China) are washed for that reason.

This is me, too. Although I don't use much laundry soap, just a dab to get the chemicals out of the fabric. I don't iron it until I'm ready to cut.

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I think it is personal preference. Welcome and ask away. I do :)

i wash and machine dry fabric when i get it home. fold it and put it away. using detergent gets rid of the formeldihyde thats in the fabric from the dying process. if you have allergy attacks after visiting your LQS its probably because of the chemicals in the fabric. with large pieces of fabric i cut off what i'm going to use and iron it before cutting my blocks {after washing and drying}. in case you don't know, LQS means local quilt shop. i still don't know all the abreviations but you'll learn them. welcome to the site, you'll find friends and lots of help and differing opinions on many things. try everything in miniture and then do what works best for you.

I wash mine with soap & vinigar for color setting, then dry in dryer, fold and put away. Why iron & then have to reiron when using

As soon as i get home I wash it in the machine with detergent to get out chemicals and dry it to allow it to shrink.

I wash all my fabric in the machine, ordinary washing powder/detergent, rinse (no fabric softener) and line dry. Bring it in, fold and put away. Don't bother ironing and starching 'til ready to use it.

I didn't wash it right away whenI first started (last year), but now with the bed bug infestations, I was anything made of fabric and dry it for 30 min. I don't mind the ironing because the material looks so nice when it is done.

Has anyone found bed bugs in a fabric order?

from what I have read, they can be any where because you do not know where it has been. warehouses, storage. I would rather not take that chance. Remember them when we had them once whenI was a kid.

I agree. I was just wondering if there were any reports yet. I noticed that for a while, the bed bugs were in the news and now you never hear about them but I am sure the problem is not any different than it was before. I guess it was the crisis of the moment for the news and other, more interesting stories, took over.

I have just been inspecting fabric and if I'm not sure, I freeze it for 2 weeks. lol. In a big plastic bag, of course. I don't want the bugs in my freezer either.

we still see it in the news. was one on today. mostly on the east coast right now. but I am not waiting for them to show up over here. nasty little things and now there aren't too many things to use to kill the buggers. smile.

I haven't seen them on the news in weeks. I still think about them though. Went to the library today and hesitated to sit on the upholstered chairs. lol

I always wash my fabrics as soon as possible, I have allergies
and washing the fabrics gets all the smells out of it. Its ready to use when I'm making a quilt. I use a bit of laundry
detergent in a short wash cycle and dry in the dryer.

I try to always wash it (with detergent) when I buy it and dry it in the dryer, iron it with "Best Press", because I like the crisp feeling and it is easier to cut and sew. Also if it is a fabric with strong colors or batiks I also add Retayne into the washing machine so the colors stay and won't run. Don't put softener or dryer sheets to the fabric!!!!

I always wash my fabric when I come through the door from shopping. Throw into washer, add a little soap (I use baby wash/delicate fabric soap) and THEN unload the car! No dryer for me as I find if it overdries I can't ever get the wrinkles out.

The ironing part is my fave job..............I get to pet and fondle the new fabric to my heart's content!

I always wash fabric first. Sewing instructors used to tell us that it straightened the grain as the fabric was damp when wound on the bolt. I prefer to iron it before storage as recently washed fabric seems to iron easier and better.

ALWAYS wash q/tops by hand in liquid washing powder, rinse thoroughly and lightly spin drying flat.
Have had DREADFUL problems with reds-----they tend to run badly.

If you wash your fabrics before cutting them - you would find out if you had a bleeder before you used it.

If I had to wash a quilt top - and the only time that would be if something undesirable had gotten on it - that's how I would do it -

Do you usually wash a quilt top before it's quilted?

The quilters I worked with did not wash their material. I was wondering that myself.