Washing fabrics
 

I have a great deal of fabric that I would like to cut into precut shapes. 10 inch, Jelly Roll, and charms. Should I wash the fabric before cutting up? Thank You.

I am not a pre washer but if I were going to pre wash I would do it before cutting

This is the whole wash/not wash can of worms. I'm a pre washer, so I would wash the fabric first.

Yes. Wash it first. Small pieces tend to ravel and stretch out of shape easily in the wash.

I'm a pre-washer, so I would have already washed it as soon as it came in the door. However, I'm wondering why you're cutting the fabric up? I know there's the Bonnie Hunter system of cutting scraps into certain sizes so there's always plenty to make her scrap quilts, but I always thought that was more for scraps than for yardage. I prefer to keep my stash in whatever size it is until I know what I want to do with it. Of course if you've already got a plan for your yardage, cutting it up may make complete sense.

What she said.

If you're going to wash the fabric before using it in a quilt, definitely wash it before cutting.

I have chemical sensitivities so rarely use unwashed fabrics. All my fabric is dried in the dryer. It is folded after it comes out of the dryer and stored. When I want to use it, I iron it.

It's a lot of work if you are cutting it all at once. But if you plan to take your time about it, it is not unreasonable to do.

But if you normally sew with unwashed fabrics, then I don't see any reason to pre-wash before cutting. Of course, there are exceptions - flannel!

Wash if you are a prewashwer, don't if you are not. It is a choice you have to make. There are pros and cons to each and each quilter has their own preference as to why or why not

I always pre wash because that's what I was taught to do when I first started quilting and old habits are hard to break. LOL