I prewash some and flannel.

I don't pre-wash anymore but when I did, I serged the edges so not so many strings to cut off afterwards. Now I starch heavily so if its going to bleed, it normally does it then for me, plus once its dry, I spray mist and then press so some of the shrinkage should happen then too. Has worked for me and my quilts still come out a little wrinkled which I like anyway.

Ok, so with that subject, what do you thing about hand washing for one without an accessible washing machine?

Of course, you can hand wash your fabrics and hang them to dry. I would use steam to press them in this case.

Even if I weren't concerned about shrinkage and bleeding dyes in fabrics (and I've encountered a few) I would still be much more concerned about the chemicals or any other matter which might end up on the fabric (my cousin caught a couple of adults blowing their noses/wiping their noses on the new fabric in her shop. That fabric had to be thrown away -- she couldn't sell it. I would hope that people have more respect for fabrics that are in retail establishments, but I don't have confidence that this would be the case. I've seen instances where chicken bones, pieces of bread, etc., have been stuffed either in fabrics or in clothing. I don't think I need to tell you how disgusting that is to me. I have asthma -- and it's not going to go away, so I exercise a great deal of caution, so I guess I will always pre-wash. But I don't buy pre-cuts or quilt kits either. If something is going to be damaged by washing, I don't want it brought in the door to my house. An ER visit due to an asthma attach is soooo much more expensive, both financially and physically.

I just completed the Mystery Train Ride and I wasn't able to pre-wash as it was scrappy...something I always do. So, some of it will be pre-washed and some of it will not. We'll see how it washes.
Oh well, it's a Mystery, right?

Watson

I think washing before cutting is worth the effort. That said, I do have a large stack of fabric that is unwashed and taunting me.

It is a bit of a bother - but I think trying to remove dye that has bled and trying to repair seams that have pulled out because of shrinkage is a bigger bother.

From my experience, a small piece of fabric (a scrap or a precut) can bleed just as much as the larger piece of fabric it was cut from.

I rarely pre-wash but once in awhile I do if I think a fabric is suspicious. I've never had problems.

Prewash fabric? Never have, never will.:)