Washing a quilt before giving it away?
 

Does everyone wash their quilts before giving them away? Sometimes they just look so crisp and nice when I am all done, I don't want to wash them!! On the other hand, if I wash it, (or just rinse it out) I get to see if there are any flaws in my sewing!

I ALWAYS wash the quilt after I make it. I want to guarantee it won't fall apart.

agree - always wash.

Ditto what everyone else said! I always wash.

Me too. Always wash.

I always wash before giving a quilt away. I like the look after washing and drying, and I like to get all the starch out.

I always wash it too. If anything is going to go amiss, I want to be the one who discovers it. And I want my recipient to receive it in the state it's going to be after washing, rather than thinking that they ruined it in the wash. Another factor-- I have pets who shed and may occasionally sit on quilts in progress -- don't want any pet dander to cause the recipient difficulty.

I usually prefer the softer and slightly crinkled look anyhow.

I recently started washing mine prior to gifting them - one to ensure there were no issues needing correcting, two - to show the receipient yep - wash em!

I wash too. Just found the color catchers and I don't prewash fabric anymore. I was very happy I washed the quilt with the color catchers. They came out pink and I used fabric made by one of the best mfgs.

I never wash. I did wash a quilt top after a flood where some mold got on the corners. I ended up bleaching the corners, and the color came out of the background fabric. So I ended up making some appliques to cover up the bleached corners.

I always wash before gifting. I don't want the person to wash it and get some sort of sad surprise. I also give washing instructions with the quilt so they know it can be washed.

I ALWAYS wash a quilt before it goes out the door- if anything Is going to happen to it I want to know first- I don't want to cause a recipient un-due stress because they washed it & something happened.

I wash mine with a color catcher before giving them. I like the "crinkled" look plus by the time I've man handled it in my sewing room, it needs to be washed. LOL

If I prewash my fabric and keep the cats out of the sewing room (we have new curious cats who don't understand boundaries too well) then I will toss the finished quilt in the dryer with a large damp towel. The towel picks up all the lose threads and helps refresh the quilt.

If I don't prewash the fabric, I wash the quilt.

Since I check my seams along the way, I am not worried about seams coming undone.

I always pre-wash the fabric and then wash the quilts, before gifting them. Like others have mentioned, I want to be the one to find it, if anything goes amiss. I also like to give them, ready to use. :thumbup:

I always wash mine too! Like to know I give a clean quilt. I think it gets a little dusty while working on it.

Always wash - gets rid of pet dander, dust, hand oils, anything else floating around! I take it out of the dryer and pop it into a plastic bag until gift-giving time.

Sometimes I do wash ... sometimes I don't ... it depends on how much starch I used ( I like to wash it out) and how much other "stuff" it may have picked up while making it.

I had quilt, so I need to wash it to get all the hand oils out of it along with the quilt markings

I always wash for many of the reasons stated here. Dog hair; starch; hand oils. I also hand quilt so I want to wash out the marking lines and just general dust and dirt that accumulate in the time it takes me to quilt it along with it dragging on the floor in that process. Plus, I too, like the crinkled look. Even though I prewash my fabric, I have found previously a fabric continued to bleed after I washed that darn quilt about 10 times. Finally gifted it with a box of color catchers and told the recipients to ALWAYS wash that quilt with those!

I always wash, for all the reasons stated by everyone else. But also, once, I was trying a new batting and I washed a quilt it came out really really wrinkled. Low and behold, the batting was supposed to be prewashed to size it. I gave the quilt anyway and told the recipient, I was trying a new batting if you would like a flatter quilt, I can make another one. She loved it. But I know if she had washed it, she would have thought it was ruined.

Well I guess I am a renegade......I do not wash my fab before piecing, do not use starch at all ever, either hand quilt or machine quilt-do not wash after completed...whether mine or as a gift........if before I cut into a fab at the beginning I suspect bleeding, I cut a small chunk and put it into a cup of HOT water, if it bleeds--I replace it. If I gift the quilt I will instruct to wash in cool water, on gentle and gentle dry....and a quilt need not be washed weekly---unless an accident.....my own get fluffed and refreshed weekly in dryer, and washed only once a year. I don't need to wash to make sure my seams are "holding" at the beginning, because I know they are sewed right. I have L/A a few where I have had to re-sew some seams - I relate that info to client---that I think makes me very conscious of my own piecing!

I wash--when I press, parts tend to drag on the floor.

I always wash for these reasons:

I want to see what "my baby" looks like when it's done, and how it will look for years to come, before I give it away.

I love the soft, crinkly texture of a washed quilt.

Washing hides a LOT of imperfections! I recently made a wall hanging that was in a guild challenge. I finished it at 2 am the night before the competition. There were several areas in the quilting that I was unhappy with, but because it was so late I gave up and called it a night. I washed it lightly to get my quilting lines out, then dried it. It came out beautiful and I could not find those quilting imperfections. :D

p.s. I won the challenge!

I agree with Geri B. I don't prewash fabric or wash my quilts when I'm done.

I wash quilts after I've made them because I feel they are dirty after being handled, dropped on the floor, covered with dust if they have sat for a few weeks, been dragged around while being hand quilted, etc., etc.
Plus that old-fashioned softness factor....yum!

Jan in VA

I wash mine too, pretty much for the same reasons as everybody else. I think it helps when I give it away if I can tell people, "this is machine washable; it's already been tested!"

Plus that way I get to be the first person to snuggle with it when it's fresh out of the dryer and all warm and cozy!

I never used to wash my quilts, until I found that my "giftees" weren't washing them because they were afraid they'd ruin them! I have one friend that's had her quilt for years, and was terrified to wash it. I told her to throw the dang thing in the washing machine - I made it to withstand water. Now wash them all before giving them to people, and let them know it's already had its first bath!

me too wash after quilting as I use a small q-snap frame and it gets drug around a lot while quilting

I, too, love the "crisp" of a new and unwashed quilt. That said, I wash those babies before they move on. I want to know if there are any problems. :D

I always wash quilts that I will be giving away...especially the ones donated for raffles, I use color catchers to catch any possible color transfer. I include a note stating that the quilt has been washed and then wrapped in tissue paper. I also include washing instructions. I have dogs that leave their fur everywhere, it does not bother us but it may be offensive to others!

Thanks for this post, I have seen people mention that they wash a finished quilt before gifting but I never put too much thought into the question, but now, with everyone supplying all the information I will wash before gifting. I love the look of my newly finished quilts but also love how quilts look after washing, the softness, the crinkling, it's sort of a romance look to a quilt, so from here forward - WASH!

I always wash after as I don't wash before. I use many color catchers with the first couple of washes - include them with the quilt. I love the crinkles, it's why I don't wash before sewing. (And the fact I'm too lazy) lol It does also seem to point to problems before it walks out the door.

I always wash before gifting. Agree that they look so crisp and neat BUT I use warm and natural so washing making it crinkle and soften. I'm always afraid that if I don't wash it first, they'll think they ruined it when they remove it from the washer/dryer. Plus I like the idea of a clean gift.

I am renegade, I do not wash the quilt before gifting, unless I spray baste. With baby quilts, every new time mother washes everthing in "her" choice of detergent, so I do not wash them either.

I do always prewash all my fabric now, and my quilting studio is kept clean. I like the look of the quilt when I gift it, crisp. like new clothes,
I don't wash/or dry clean my new dresses, jackets, blouses, socks, slacks before wearing. ( i do wash undies first) I do give washing instructions with my quilt. I love seeing my quilt at the recipients home, either washed or still crisp.

I hope this doesn't bring on the quilt police. This is something I don't think I will ever do.

I always my quilts (except for art quilts) before giving them away and include a brief note on how to wash it if needed. I have had some colors bleed a little. Thank goodness for the color catchers. They work.

I always wash my quilts after I finish making them because they have been around and I have cats and dogs, so their fur gets everywhere. If the quilt sits around for a while before I give it (since I am always making quilts for charity) I will wash it again beofer giving to away.

I always wash a quilt before gifting for all of the above reasons. I made one quilt that I pre-washed the batting (it was Hobbs 80/20). When I washed the quilt after completion it did not have as much of the crinkly look because the batting had already shrunk. I liked the look for that quilt-it was oriental prints. I discovered that was an option and that the batting would not tear apart when washed on the gentle cycle and dried in the dryer on medium temperature. I confess that I thought I had ruined the batting when I took it out of the washer and put it into the dryer-but it was really nice to work with. I always wash the finished product because I like to use Elmer's school glue to baste the quilt and I use Crayola washable markers to mark with and I like to starch the backing. All the background stuff needs to disappear!