these are my thoughts, too.

Doesn't all cotton fabric shrink to some degree? I've noticed some of the worst shrinkage comes from cotton flannel. I should've known better because the weave was so loose I could see it from the shelf, but when I prewashed it came out not just shrunken, but quite distorted, too. Maybe I just overdid the prewashing, but it was enough to put me off flannel for the foreseeable future.

Waverly has a 60 thread count. Most quality quilt fabric has a thread count of 75 and a thread weight of 30 or 40. Waverly fabric is pretty but doesn't stand up for long term use.

I bought a bolt of some black fabric - maybe 20 years ago? I also bought two bolts of two dark blues of the same brand.

I finally decided to wash some of it so that I could use it. The blues are fine - minimal shrinking, no color loss.

This is the first time EVER that I have seen a fabric do what the black did. I put it in hot water - the water turned black - and there was sort of a sooty residue left in the water. Rinsed it again and again - still black water. Put it in the dryer - it left black "soot" in the dryer.

Then put it in the washing machine - it SHREDDED! I also wiped it with a white cloth - and it left "soot" on the white cloth.

I put it all in the trash. (Might have been good for a raggedy Halloween costume though.) I called the manufacturer, and because of the time delay - too bad, so sad.

Moral of the story - keep your receipts. Wash your fabric (if you do) SOON after you get it.

I consider bleeding fabric to be defective and I will be a Problem In The Area when I return it.

I'm not a prewasher either so it would have happened to me too. But I have noticed that fabric quality has changed with some brands and not totally across the line. Some of the solids out there are terrible. But I will look more carefully now and consider prewashing. Thanks.

That is so very sad. Waverly was always a premium fabric at least in the Home Dec department.

Wow, are you saying a 17 inch square came out around 14 inches? That is alot of shrinkage!

I own a serger and I hate what happens to fabric in the wash.

I serge my fabric before I wash it.

It doesn't take long at all and no mess!

I also serge around my quilts before I bind them.

Makes a clean, neat edge for binding.

I pre-wash everything...following the lead of many quilters here on the board! I just do it as the "first-step" in any project.

Me, too.

When fabric is very expensive, why risk losing fabric to frsying and tangled threads?