washing fat quarters
 

I have a huge collection of fat quarters- I clipped the corners on a few of them before I washed them - still came out a tangled mess! one project I want to do ,the fabric has to have the sizing removed.any tips would be appreciated.

I don't use many precuts and when I do I usually don't prewash. But I have prewashed some fat quarters checking for bleeders or to pre-shrink and I just gently swished them by hand in a sink of warm sudsy water. Rinsed gently then hung by clothes pins on hangars to drip dry. Worked fine with no unraveling threads. They dry fast.

I serge or zip zap the cut edges and throw them in the washer. Sometimes, FQ's are cut crooked and I like them on grain. Also if they are going to shrink or the color run, I want to have that done before I put them in a quilt. I prewash everything except layer cakes or jelly rolls.

I put a pinking blade on an old rotary cutter and trim the edges slightly...depending on the fabric there might be some threads but it does seem to help. I use a cold water rinse and then dry on low or air until just damp.

I wash FQs like other fabric AFTER I finish the raw edges with a zig zag stitch or overcast with a serger.

I would hand wash layer cakes.

I would not buy jelly rolls.

As far as I can tell, large and small pieces of the same fabric will behave the same as far as shrinkage and bleeding are concerned.

The only pre cut I will purchase is FQ's and I wash them just as any other fabric. They do fray a little, so I just tidy them up as I iron them. I do have a front load washing machine so that may make a difference. As others have mentioned, washing by hand would be a very good option.

I prewash everything, fat quarters included, and never serge, clip, or otherwise mess with any kind of 'edge prep'. I simply use the gentle cycle on my top loading washer. It's the full cycle agitation that tangles everything and frays the edges.

Trim any long threads before tossing in the dryer and you're good to go. I haven't had any tangled, knotted, excessively frayed, twisted up fabric for years...not since I've been washing them this way...and they don't come out of the dryer all wrinkled up either. Gentle cycle is enough to remove all sizing and chemicals for dyeing or fusing or anything else.

I rinse my fat quarters or 1/3 yard cuts (which I prefer) in the kitchen sink, wring, shake out, and toss in the dryer. Very few strings and no tangled mess ever.

I rarely buy FQ but the few I have gotten were batiks so I didn't have an issue with fraying or long tangled threads. I wash them like any other fabric. But I will try Ghostrider's gentle wash next time I do a load of prewash fabrics.