Wash and dry first
 

Do you have to wash and dry your material first before you start making a quilt?
I would prefer not to but since this is my first quilt, I'd like to get some advice on whether I need to wash and dry my material.

This is personal to the quilter. Many wash and dry every piece of fabric while others don't wash a thing. Personally I never wash anything even the reds. I like the feel of the fabric before washing and I"ve never had any trouble with shrinking. Some people will wash because they have allergies to the dyes and perfumes in the fabric. My suggestion is to try both washing for one quilt and not wash for a different one, and see which method you prefer.

We have lots of threads talking about washing and drying.

It's mostly a personal preference. However, if you're using light fabrics with colors such as red and green which have a tendency to run, you may want to pre-wash so the dark fabrics will run in the prewash rather than in the quilt.

I always prewash, myself. I worry that the smelly dyes aren't nice to breathe in as you're cutting and sewing, so I wash twice to try and get them out. Also, fabric is inherently dusty and linty and a prewash will take some of that out. I also like the smell of fresh-washed anything ;-).

But I know loads of people who don't prewash.

Update: I should point out that sometimes fabrics can be unpredictable. I never thought this one would run red, since it's a mostly blue and green fabric. (It's an RJR fabric, wish I had more of it, but I'd definitely wash it a few times before using!) Three washings with Synthrapol and a Shout color catcher took the run out. But I was heartbroken when it happened.

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I am in the wash and dry before cutting camp.

I have had at least one piece of fabric of every color bleed, and uneven shrinkage of various pieces. I dislike unpleasant surprises. It probably is more effort to wash every single piece of the washable components before cutting them - but trying to fix something because of not washing before cutting is a bigger bother to me.

But there are many that seem to have had no issues with using unwashed fabric.

I sort my fabrics into groups so that if there is bleeding, it won't hurt whatever is in the bucket with them (dark greens with dark greens, etc.)I actually SOAK my fabrics in hot water until the water cools down - or I get around to washing them - on a short, gentle cycle and just dry "until barely done." I fold and put away. I do iron the fabric before cutting it.

I feel that it is the abrasion of machine washing and machine drying that makes new fabric look old.

There is also a lot of discussion about using Retayne, Synthrapol, and Color Catchers.

Manufacturer name is no guarantee of color-fastness, either.

Some people prewash everything, some never prewash, some choose to prewash under certain circumstances ...it's a personal choice and nothing says You Have To-- although, some people will tell you you do-- its up to you.

I am a non washer. Unless I have a piece that looks like it is over saturated with dye. Then I will prewasher that particular piece. You will get a good feel for those pieces after time. You can also test a small piece by putting it in very hot water then lay it on paper towel. If it runs on that you know it is best to wash the whole piece.

Your darker colors can as shown in bearisgray run when washed. You can take a small square of fabric and pretest it. Place it in a small container, add hot water with your detergent and shake it on and off for about 10 minutes. Rinse and put on a white paper towels. I never prewash my fabrics unless I know I have a runner. With color catchers, I just don't worry about it. I live in an apt complex and it just takes too long to press out all the fabric. JMO.

Batiks, as in the pictured quilt, are more likely to bleed than regular printed fabrics because of their dye process. I will sometimes pre wash dark batiks because of that even though I generally don't pre wash.

I wash and dry everything unless I am making a wall hanging. Had a bad experience with fabric bleeding on a quilt.