Sandra-P

I have always washed them and put them in the dryer for all the reason everyone else stated. I throw a pod in and a color catcher.

LI_diva

I wash my finished quilts on a gentle cycle, and let them air dry. Then I spray with magic sizing and iron them so they feel crisp and new.

Once they’ve been used, I wash and dry them on a gentle cycle.

If I am giving a quilt away, and don’t know how it will be cared for, I might choose a poly batting.

Pennyhal

I wash mine with my regular detergent. However, I found that not only can fabric bleed, but it can crock too. I didn't worry too much about crocking until it happened to me. That when one fabric sticks on another fabric and sits there sort of stuck together. You can get color transfer just in that one spot where they sort of stick together. Color catchers only catch color from the water in the tub. I don't know if prewashing keeps that from happening because it's such a rare occurance. I don't want to prewash the daylights out of fabric, but I do prewash reds and stitck it wet between some white fabric and leave it there with something heavy on top to see what kind of color transfer might happen.

HouseDragon

I prewash all fabrics in hot water with colour catchers and also wash the batting because I don't like crinkly quilts.

Finished quilts are washed in warm or hot water with Orvus Horse soap and a couple of colour catchers for "just in case", and dried in the drier.

A jar of Orvus Horse cleaner will last forever and is waaaaay cheaper than the same thing sold "for quilts"!

cathyvv

That makes two of us!

MaryKa

I wash everything before I make it into any project and I also wash it after I have finished the project. I have 2 service cats and will be getting a service dog in the near future therefore everything gets washed at the laundry and then taken directly to my church/Salvation Army/Toys 4 Tots. Everything has all the cat/dog fur off the articles being washed and given away.

Peckish

That doesn't really describe "crocking" accurately. Crocking is when the dye can easily transfer just by touching. Ever run your hand over a home dec fabric (happened to me!) and have the dye transfer to your hand? That's crocking. Ever worn a new pair of unwashed jeans only to find your legs are blue at the end of the day? That's crocking. Doesn't have anything to do with getting stuck to other fabrics.

joe'smom

That name did not ring a bell, but I want and checked and it is Orvus! Thanks for the tip on buying the large size.

WesternWilson

Yes indeed! And I like to make quilts such that they can go through the laundry over and over. I want my quilts to be used, not just looked at.

Stitchnripper

I also wash my quilts the way I think a recipient would want to - wash like normal, dry like normal. I think the people I give quilts to would not use them if they required special care. So I always say "this quilt has already been washed and dried and needs no special care". I don't have a Speed Queen, but a top loader that I can fill all the way up. I use a color catcher and detergent and dryer balls in the dryer. So far this has worked for me.