Don't wash-just start and enjoy it and later you can wash the quilt.

This is starting to scare me. My scrap quilt is turning out so nice. I have 5- 14 1/2 inch blocks done. There's no way I can wash 2 inch strips. Should I just pray all turns out well or would it help if I soaked them in water since I don't have them joined together yet?

Only if I am using lights and darks in reds do I prewash. Other than that I like the stiffer fabric to work with.

I would not prewash kit fabric. But if you do find a fabric that bleeds, dont just wash it, wash all your fabric. That way your fabric will have shrank ( is that a word?) evenly before sewing and quilting.
Mikki

I do not pre-wash because I am too lazy. If you prewash you have to iron and we all know how cotton wrinkles. The teacher at my LQS said not to pre-wash.

No I hate washing first.. I do a test to make sure it doesn't fade when using dark fabrics..

I would vote not to wash the fabric, wash the quilt when it is complete.

I always wash fabrics when I bring them home from the store. I like knowing how the fabric is really going to look and feel when it's washed. (Also, a carryover from making clothes, and not wanting them to shrink so that they don't fit after spending all that time making them!)

However, I just put together my first quilt top from a jelly roll of batiks. I didn't want to try washing all these strips, so I assembled it without washing, and then washed the top before making the quilt sandwich. This seemed to work ok, with the only problem being that there was a lot of raveling that I had to clean up. It reminded me of working on a rag quilt!

I've never done a kit, so can't comment on that.

And, oh yeah, color catchers in the wash are a MUST!

I hand wash everything, unless it is for a One Block Wonder. I will hand wash in a basin in cool water, check for dye seepage, toss in dryer in a lingerie bag on low heat for 10 min, and then iron dry with sizing/starch.

You'll be fine. When you wash the quilt throw in one of the color absorbing cloths from Shout. If anything fades, it will soak up the color. I've used them with antique quilts even and they work well.