Washing a new quilt
 

I'm a new quilter and have made quilt tops but just finishing one completely to give away.
Should I wash the quilt when done before giving away?
I don't want it to look bad after washing so I hesitate to wash it. Will it change the looks a lot?
Does anyone have pics of one before washing and after?
Also how should I wash it and what detergent?
Thanks so much
Terry

this is how I handle it - everyone will have their own way and opinion! I hated to wash my first gift quilt, because it looked so good! But the thought of what might happen when the giftee washed the quilt made me do it. My main concern was what if a seam opened or I missed ending a row of stitching the right way. So after washing and drying in the dryer, I saw no issues. One quilt seemed a little bit more wrinkly so I ironed it a little. No problem, good as new!

I always wash mine so I'll know how they'll look after washing. Also, to make sure there's no color bleeding (I use color catchers) and to make sure there are no oopsies that might show up after washing.

I go to the laundry mat and wash all my quilts once completed. I used Color Catchers and a mild soap. I then use the dryers there also. This is for all the above reasons - seams coming undone, setting the colors and a I prefer to have it ready to go when I give it away. I love the crinkled look also :)

I always wash after completion. There can be any number of things that need attention that you simply won't see until it is washed. I also want to eliminate any dirt, markings, oils from my hands and cat hair ( they are quite persistent in trying to gain entrance to my sewing room). Your quilt will look different after washing, but not necessarily in a bad way. How much different depends on a few defferent things.....the type of batting used (poly does not shrink), were the fabrics prewashed (prewashing helps eliminate fabric bleeds as well as shrinkage), cotton thread versus poly, etc. You also don't want the recipient to feel like they have ruined a quilt when it comes out of the dryer all crinkled (is what happens when you use cotton batting...very desirable to lots of us quilters).

I wash before gifting. It closes all those little pin holes and allows you to gift a beautiful quilt.
The only quilt I did not quilt was for a baby and I was not sure about what powder etc to use. So I gave it to dad with very specific washing instructions . Mum was amazed how it puffed up which he did not tell her. Glad I did this because I reAlsd when I saw the baby she had a skin condition.

I always wash mine as soon as they are finished. But I will say that if you have a new washing machine that is HE and self-filling, make sure you use a setting that will allow more water in the tub. I always use the bulky/bedding setting because it adds considerably more water to the tub. My mom didn't do that with the quilt she made me, and I'm pretty sure that's why red dye deposited on some spots and stained the quilt. :-(

I would wash it in case any of the fabrics bleed. Wash on delicate and use dish soap like Palmolive Original or Dawn Original that don't have any gimmicky chemical additives that could harm a quilt. Use color catchers as well.

Inspect the quilt carefully after washing. If nothing bled and there are no other problems, then machine dry on the lowest setting and pull it out when damp.

Good tip! Thanks!

i wash before gifting, also, for the reasons that others do

If one washed/soaked the fabrics BEFORE cutting them, it minimizes the risk of bleeds later.

I don't think a quilt is finished until it has been washed - I am always excited to see what it looks like after it gets it's crinkle. I usually do a quick wash which only takes 15 minutes on my machine, and then dry on very low heat until just barely dry.

Same....I wash before giving. Then I can tell them, hey it's washed and it didn't run (or did, so use color catchers). Also, if it's for a child or baby, it's nice to have it all clean and cuddly for them. I know what you're saying about before and after. It just isn't crisp and new anymore if you put it in the dryer.

Here's an example. It definitely crinkled up. I used Fusi-boo batting from Joanne's. Not sure if that was why it got like that. It surprised me!

i hadn't even thought about washing lol
i come from the knitting world and i wash/block everything... just hadn't translated to quilts. then again, i've only made a quilted sewing machine cover.

i shall wash my first official quilt as soon as i'm finished with it. thanks for all the tips and reasons for washing before gifting!

I recently made a lime and yellow baby quilt for a friend's great-grandbaby and washed it before giving it away. I used "Quilt Wash" from the quilt store and put in a white towel as a color catcher. (Since then I bought a box of the real ones for my next quilt.) I washed on delicate, warm water. But I spread it out on my cutting table right from the washing machine, pulling and stretching it, and smoothing out the top so it was nice and square. Left it till it was just damp, then put it in the dryer to complete drying. It looked just fine.

i take mine to the laudromat too. those huge machines use lots of water and are pretty hard on the quilt, showing me that nothing terrible is going to happen to it once i pass it on to the new owner. i want my quilts to be used and loved and that means they are going to need washing form time to time. so i do it first :)

for me the crinkle around the stitching is part of the joy of quilts. sometimes i love the look of a newly stitched top but i know it's only half way to finished :)

aileen

I burned a brand new granny square afghan (bed sized) in a laundramat dryer that had issues. I'll never use one again for anything I care about.

I wash all mine before gifting - dirt; oils from hands; dog hair; etc. I might be the odd one out here but I just toss mine in my regular top loading washer on the perm. press setting with normal detergent and normally use regular fabric softener. I then toss into the dryer, also on a perm press setting until it's completely dry. No harm/no foul. They do 'crinkle' but that's the look I'm after and the primary reason I use cotton batting. Plus, as others have mentioned, it usually brings to light any 'production' booboos before gifting.

I like the crisp neat appearance of my quilts without having been washed.

I've never used color catchers. Where do you buy them?

I always wash them because:
- I want to give it "pre-crinkled"; I don't want the recipient to think they ruined the quilt when it comes out of the dryer the first time.
- as others have mentioned; to catch any mistakes. I've had binding where I somehow totally missed a side when I was attaching it (I bind by machine) and it came out of the dryer all stringy and weird and had to be hand-sewn to fix it.
- final test for runs in the fabric - I pre-wash unless I'm using precuts but I still like the double check.
- removing cat hair, hand oil, Elmer's glue, chalk lines...

And I also like to be able to tell people it's been "tested" - I think people are a lot more comfortable tossing the quilt into the washing machine if I tell them I've already done it myself.

Color catchers - you can buy them just about anywhere. I've bought them online at Amazon.com, and also found them at Joann's, Safeway, and Target. There is another brand that calls them something slightly different, which is not coming to my mind, but I've used those ones too and they work just as well.

Shout Color Catchers are in most grocery stores in the section with the dryer sheets.

I like the crinkle look. That being said, the new owner probably won't iron their quilt after washing and drying so I personally can't see ironing. Give them what they'll get after washing. JMHO

DO NOT use dish soap in the washing maching. How Do I know??? I helped my daughter clean up a foot of soap sudds from her utility room floor that over flowed when my son-in-law used dish soap because he couldn't find the laundry soap. They even started to oozz into the hall. Not fun. But the floor was really clean when we were done. I'm sure you have seen TV shows or commercials where the soap is flowing out of the washing machine. That is what will happen.

I know I'm the odd man (woman) out, but I stretch my binding when attaching it. In the first picture you can even see a little wrinkle in the left binding.
I lay the quilt out to sew the next few inches, lay the binding on where it should be, give the binding a little tug and hold that on the quilt with my fingers while I sew that section. If the binding is length of fabric, you can tug quite a bit; if it is width of fabric, tug just a little.
I've never heard of anyone else doing that, but better to have the binding just a little tight than too loose.

When I gift a quilt, I don't always wash the Quilt but I do make up a little card with washing instructions that is included with the quilt.

I always wash before giving a gift quilt. First of all to remove all the washable glue and starch and marking pens and chalk used to construct the quilt. I also want the new owner to see the quilt as it really is meant to be. Then, they will not be afraid to wash it when needed. I put it in the washer with regular detergent. I do prefer to lay them out flat to dry. I use a plastic drop cloth either spread on the floor or over a bed. I also try to cut the portion of the batting wrapper out that has care instructions and include it with the gift.

I washed mine in 40C water (I think that would be considered warm.)

I posted my pics in my thread I just started - http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...t-t244008.html

What was the size change?

If I were putting it into a show I would not wash unless there was something (marks, etc.) that I needed to get rid of. If it were for anything else I would wash it. When I have looked at quilts in shows I don't think that most of them look like they have been washed.

I don't consider my quilt finished until it's washed. If I didn't like the crinkled look I wouldn't use cotton batting. I actually like that look and love whimsical quilts. Another thing, I don't want to gift something that may have dirt on it.
Sue

I wash the quilt before I give it away because I use 505 adhesive spray when I sandwich the quilt and I don't want that left in, in case the recipient has allergies. I also want to see if theirs any places need repairs.

Hi, this is a follow-up to the before/after pics I posted. Thanks MAVISKW for the binding tip. On this one I brought the backing around because it was just a practice piece. And the fusible batting only shrunk the stated 3% but I was surprised how my FMQ lost its identity! (I've been thinking of doing more modern quilts with more negative space and don't want my quilts to look like that after washing)

Can you use Retayne to set the color? The water is a good tip. Thank you. Sue

This happened to one of mine. It's because of the FM quilting. It is denser in some areas. If it's a wall hanging I wouldn't wash it with that much quilting. Mine was a table runner so it had to be washed. I removed the binding and used a slight gathering stitch on the bumpy edges and rebound it. It came perfect. Hope this helps. I think your quilt is beautiful.

I do exactly the same thing. I also let the recipient know type of laundry detergent and fabric softener I use, just in case they have allergies. That way they can re-wash before using if need be.

As I use Elmer's Glue when assembling my quilts, especially on the binding, I'll always wash my quilts before I give them away. Also I want to know if one of my fabrics will bleed so I use the color catchers to be sure. I don't want to think something I've given away as a gift to someone has caused that person grief when they go to wash it themselves. Rather be safe than sorry plus I think it gives the person relief to know they shouldn't have any problems when they go to wash it. I always tell them this gift is to be used and abused if necessary..............as I found one person was afraid to use it cause she thought it too nice to use. I tell them its already been walked on as my sewing room at the time was not large enough not to walk on it while assembling it.

I have a top loading machine and that is where the quilt goes. I set the machine to super load so the machine will get lots of water, use my regular detergent (Arm and Hammer) and a couple of color catchers, set the machine to light wash and hot water (which is never as hot as I want it to be when I'm washing dish towels) and let her rip. I usually run it through a second rinse and then put it in the dryer and get it good and dry. Then I look it over for any oopsies. I know this will horrify people who swish their quilts around in the machine with a stick, but for me that would be going back to the days when I helped my grandmother do laundry in the big vat in the backyard 70 years ago. If my quilts can't take a top loader, a good spin and the dryer, they won't survive very long in a house with two cats and two Yorkies anyway. froggyintexas

I have not washed many, but all the talk of possible seams opening up, etc. has made me think. I do want to get the chalk and cat hair out before I give a certain one away. I plan to use cool water and a very mild detergent, plus color catchers. I do not want anything to happen to this one. I may start doing this all the time though, as it sounds like a very good idea, to check the quilt before the person gets it.