Tartan

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

Mariposa

I still wash mine. Get rid of chemicals, catch bleeders, and shrinkage.

indycat32

I was pre-washing as soon as I bought the fabric, even if I wasn't going to use it right away. And then I decided to try a one block wonder with fabric from my stash. She really means it when she says don't pre-wash. Finally got the panels to line up (or close enough) but it was harder than it needed to be. So I may still pre-wash but not until I'm ready to use it.

ghostrider

I suppose if your only reason for prewashing is to get rid of loose dyes, Ms Doan's conclusion would make sense. I prewash everything to get rid of chemicals, finishings, and 'retail grunge', to preshrink, to make 'fuse ready', to make 'surface design ready', to restore the natural grain, and, oh yeah, to test for colorfastness. I have yet to find any reason at all not to prewash my fabrics, but it's a personal choice we all make for ourselves.

NikkiLu

Batiks MUST be prewashed. I recently purchased some absolutely beautiful batiks from a member here and just assumed that they were not prewashed - so dunked them in my pure white dish pan with a drop of soap and they did bleed - not a whole lot - but my water was the color of tea. When I emailed the lady whom I purchased them from and told her that they had arrived and how much I loved them, I said that I had just washed them and they did bleed a little. She was surprised because she had already washed them!!!

Candace

I prewash everything because it's very little effort to protect my money and time investment. I've seen enough ruined projects from others that don't prewash, to remind me to keep doing what I'm doing;>

bigsister63

Why start this discussion again!!!! It is a matter of preference if you wash or not! Personally I do not since I do not to iron all the wrinkles out of yards of fabric!!!!! Takes too much time away from quilting!!! Also I like the wrinkled look after washing quilt for the first time. Also I always us a "color Catcher" ist time I was quilt.

Normabeth

I don't wash my fabric either, but I do steam them, either with a hot iron or in my washing machine's steam cycle, they just get a little damp and hot.

Skittl1321

I used to never prewash. I've started because I'm using more of my own hand-dyes. I have to prewash the fabrics I dye to get the sizing out, and then wash them multiple times to rinse of excess dyes. I'm worried if I mix them with commercial fabrics that aren't prewashed the shrinking won't be the same.

But if I use soley commercial fabrics, I pretty much never prewash.

Teeler

Is it of any use to make a list of fabrics that shrink, or could a certain fabric/designer/retailer often have different "lots" that may not behave the same consistently?