For Those That Pre-Wash, What is Your Process?? I've Never Done This But Plan to Use Red.
09-11-2011, 05:21 PM
#41
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 1,227
Originally Posted by MacThayer
OK, well this is my method. I learned it from my mother, who was an awesome seamstress. She believed in pre-washing and drying all fabric to both shrink it and make sure it was color fast. She thought dryers were the world's best invention because they would shrink any fabric that could shrink.
Wash dark colors with dark colors and light colors with light colors; that's pretty basic. Put your small pieces in a mesh lingerie bag. I use large ones. Do not "stuff" the bag. Water needs to flow around the fabric freely. (My mom made "mesh" bags out of garden netting.) This significantly reduces fraying. For large pieces of fabric that will not fit in the bags, sew a tight (short) stitch along all raw edges. This will significantly reduce fraying, and will be cut off when you "square up" the fabric. Any color thread will do; I just use whatever is on my machine. Wash in warm water. Mom figured warm was the hottest she'd ever wash in, and if she used cold, eventually the item would probably end up in a warm water wash, so she needed to know how it would perform in warm water. She also added a cup or more of white vinegar "to set the colors". Obviously a little less with smaller loads. She swore by it, as did Grandma and Great Grandma, and they had learned it from their mothers. My mother and Grandmothers are women from the Depression years who did not believe in waste; I have to believe they used vinegar here for a good reason. I have no statistics on this, but I've always used vinegar and I've never had any color bleed or fade, so there you have it. Maybe someone could enlighten us as to why this works? Mom always used half the amount of detergent she would use for a load that size. She said you really don't need much, just enough to get basically clean fabric clean, and to get the colors running if they're going to run. She also believed in drying the fabric until it was dry, and said the dryer was the best thing for making sure the fabric shrank as much as it was ever going to shrink. If you took it out damp, it still had the potential to shrink some more. So that's what I do. I wish I had her "coke bottle sprinkler" (remember those?), but I don't, so I use the sprayer on the iron, and also some spray starch to add some body back into the fabric. I press more than iron in the sense that I try to be careful not to stretch the fabric as I ironing. So there's more "picking up and putting down" of the iron until it's virtually dry (from the spraying and starch) and then I'll run my iron over it to smooth it.
The only tedious part is the ironing, and that goes pretty well with some upbeat rock in the background!
Wash dark colors with dark colors and light colors with light colors; that's pretty basic. Put your small pieces in a mesh lingerie bag. I use large ones. Do not "stuff" the bag. Water needs to flow around the fabric freely. (My mom made "mesh" bags out of garden netting.) This significantly reduces fraying. For large pieces of fabric that will not fit in the bags, sew a tight (short) stitch along all raw edges. This will significantly reduce fraying, and will be cut off when you "square up" the fabric. Any color thread will do; I just use whatever is on my machine. Wash in warm water. Mom figured warm was the hottest she'd ever wash in, and if she used cold, eventually the item would probably end up in a warm water wash, so she needed to know how it would perform in warm water. She also added a cup or more of white vinegar "to set the colors". Obviously a little less with smaller loads. She swore by it, as did Grandma and Great Grandma, and they had learned it from their mothers. My mother and Grandmothers are women from the Depression years who did not believe in waste; I have to believe they used vinegar here for a good reason. I have no statistics on this, but I've always used vinegar and I've never had any color bleed or fade, so there you have it. Maybe someone could enlighten us as to why this works? Mom always used half the amount of detergent she would use for a load that size. She said you really don't need much, just enough to get basically clean fabric clean, and to get the colors running if they're going to run. She also believed in drying the fabric until it was dry, and said the dryer was the best thing for making sure the fabric shrank as much as it was ever going to shrink. If you took it out damp, it still had the potential to shrink some more. So that's what I do. I wish I had her "coke bottle sprinkler" (remember those?), but I don't, so I use the sprayer on the iron, and also some spray starch to add some body back into the fabric. I press more than iron in the sense that I try to be careful not to stretch the fabric as I ironing. So there's more "picking up and putting down" of the iron until it's virtually dry (from the spraying and starch) and then I'll run my iron over it to smooth it.
The only tedious part is the ironing, and that goes pretty well with some upbeat rock in the background!
09-11-2011, 06:22 PM
#43
Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 90
I wash all fabric as soon as I get it home. Cool water, light soap. My washer does not have a gentle cycle. I let it agitate for 1-2 minutes and turn off the washer while the fabric soaks. Drain the water and spin. Do the same process for the rinse cycle.
I then usually hang the fabric over the shower curtain for drying.
Even my dryer is too hot. This is for cottons because that is all I use.
I then usually hang the fabric over the shower curtain for drying.
Even my dryer is too hot. This is for cottons because that is all I use.
09-11-2011, 06:29 PM
#44
Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 90
I iron large pieces of fabric by folding it lengthwise twice when I am not going to use it right away. I try not to press any creases though. Makes it easier for me when time to cut and quilt. I pad the hanger with a couple of guest towels to keep the fabric from creasing.
09-11-2011, 08:59 PM
#46
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Portland, OR via Hawaii
Posts: 1,342
Originally Posted by the casual quilter
I prewash fabric the same way I do my laundry. I wash in cold water and dry on regular heat. I use detergent but not fabric softener. I do use Color Catchers especially with reds and purples. If the Color Catchers seem really saturated with dye when I finish, I'll re-launder with another Color Catcher.
The only fabric I ever ran into a constant bleed was a hand dyed backing fabric. I had to wash that (all 3 yards of it) four times...and I made sure I used a large load setting to really get free agitation with that much fabric.
09-11-2011, 09:50 PM
#47
Super Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Illinois
Posts: 3,474
i wash my fabric in warm water , a littlebit of soap and out in warm dryer then iron !!, but when working with deep colors and red i throw a color catcher in and look in the washer every once in awhile to see if the red color is in the water if it is during the rinse cycle i will wash that color again
09-11-2011, 09:56 PM
#48
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: El Paso, Texas
Posts: 562
I wash my fabrics together, with clothes, on warm with liquid soap, a Shout Color Catcher sheet, but NO fabric conditioner. The color catcher actually "catches" any excess color (reds, blues, etc) that might deposit out on your clothes, ruining them!!!! I dry them all together, too, with a static sheet in the dryer. I do remove the fabrics from the dryer before they are completely dry to avoid setting in the wrinkles. Good luck!!!!!!
09-11-2011, 09:59 PM
#49
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Nevada
Posts: 1,103
Originally Posted by grandma Janice
Originally Posted by MacThayer
OK, well this is my method. I learned it from my mother, who was an awesome seamstress. She believed in pre-washing and drying all fabric to both shrink it and make sure it was color fast. She thought dryers were the world's best invention because they would shrink any fabric that could shrink.
Wash dark colors with dark colors and light colors with light colors; that's pretty basic. Put your small pieces in a mesh lingerie bag. I use large ones. Do not "stuff" the bag. Water needs to flow around the fabric freely. (My mom made "mesh" bags out of garden netting.) This significantly reduces fraying. For large pieces of fabric that will not fit in the bags, sew a tight (short) stitch along all raw edges. This will significantly reduce fraying, and will be cut off when you "square up" the fabric. Any color thread will do; I just use whatever is on my machine. Wash in warm water. Mom figured warm was the hottest she'd ever wash in, and if she used cold, eventually the item would probably end up in a warm water wash, so she needed to know how it would perform in warm water. She also added a cup or more of white vinegar "to set the colors". Obviously a little less with smaller loads. She swore by it, as did Grandma and Great Grandma, and they had learned it from their mothers. My mother and Grandmothers are women from the Depression years who did not believe in waste; I have to believe they used vinegar here for a good reason. I have no statistics on this, but I've always used vinegar and I've never had any color bleed or fade, so there you have it. Maybe someone could enlighten us as to why this works? Mom always used half the amount of detergent she would use for a load that size. She said you really don't need much, just enough to get basically clean fabric clean, and to get the colors running if they're going to run. She also believed in drying the fabric until it was dry, and said the dryer was the best thing for making sure the fabric shrank as much as it was ever going to shrink. If you took it out damp, it still had the potential to shrink some more. So that's what I do. I wish I had her "coke bottle sprinkler" (remember those?), but I don't, so I use the sprayer on the iron, and also some spray starch to add some body back into the fabric. I press more than iron in the sense that I try to be careful not to stretch the fabric as I ironing. So there's more "picking up and putting down" of the iron until it's virtually dry (from the spraying and starch) and then I'll run my iron over it to smooth it.
The only tedious part is the ironing, and that goes pretty well with some upbeat rock in the background!
Wash dark colors with dark colors and light colors with light colors; that's pretty basic. Put your small pieces in a mesh lingerie bag. I use large ones. Do not "stuff" the bag. Water needs to flow around the fabric freely. (My mom made "mesh" bags out of garden netting.) This significantly reduces fraying. For large pieces of fabric that will not fit in the bags, sew a tight (short) stitch along all raw edges. This will significantly reduce fraying, and will be cut off when you "square up" the fabric. Any color thread will do; I just use whatever is on my machine. Wash in warm water. Mom figured warm was the hottest she'd ever wash in, and if she used cold, eventually the item would probably end up in a warm water wash, so she needed to know how it would perform in warm water. She also added a cup or more of white vinegar "to set the colors". Obviously a little less with smaller loads. She swore by it, as did Grandma and Great Grandma, and they had learned it from their mothers. My mother and Grandmothers are women from the Depression years who did not believe in waste; I have to believe they used vinegar here for a good reason. I have no statistics on this, but I've always used vinegar and I've never had any color bleed or fade, so there you have it. Maybe someone could enlighten us as to why this works? Mom always used half the amount of detergent she would use for a load that size. She said you really don't need much, just enough to get basically clean fabric clean, and to get the colors running if they're going to run. She also believed in drying the fabric until it was dry, and said the dryer was the best thing for making sure the fabric shrank as much as it was ever going to shrink. If you took it out damp, it still had the potential to shrink some more. So that's what I do. I wish I had her "coke bottle sprinkler" (remember those?), but I don't, so I use the sprayer on the iron, and also some spray starch to add some body back into the fabric. I press more than iron in the sense that I try to be careful not to stretch the fabric as I ironing. So there's more "picking up and putting down" of the iron until it's virtually dry (from the spraying and starch) and then I'll run my iron over it to smooth it.
The only tedious part is the ironing, and that goes pretty well with some upbeat rock in the background!
09-11-2011, 10:53 PM
#50
Power Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Somerset, England
Posts: 10,686
I wash in the machine at 40 degrees as that is the temperature I would wash a finiahed quilt at so it MUST stand up to that. Soap powder but no softener. I put a small piece of white cotton in with it, if that stays white then the job is done, if it's tinted, then I wash a second time with a fresh piece of white. I've only had to do this twice in my life - both times red batik. One piece I soaked overnight, washed again and it was fine, the other piece, I threw away as it wouldn't stop bleeding. Then I dry draped over an airer until just damp then press. I do not use starch at this stage as a) I might want to use a fusible product on it at one point and starch could stop it adhering and b) I've heard that starch can attract creepy crawlies into your stash. :-D
PS re the vinegar - my understanding is that this USED to work to set colours as dyes were natural-based. Now they are chemical-based, you need to use a chemical product like Synthrapol. The soaking mentioned above would have the same effect if plain water water were used - it is residual dye coming out of the fabric, NOT the colour bleeding.
PS re the vinegar - my understanding is that this USED to work to set colours as dyes were natural-based. Now they are chemical-based, you need to use a chemical product like Synthrapol. The soaking mentioned above would have the same effect if plain water water were used - it is residual dye coming out of the fabric, NOT the colour bleeding.
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