Wash Fleece Before Use?
 

I’m going to use fleece to back a child's charity quilt.
Should I wash the fleece first? Will it ‘bleed’ much?

I've never had a problem with fleece bleeding or shrinking, however, because it's for kids, I'd wash it to be sure i get any chemicals out of the fabric. I have pets so I always wash finished quilts for kids
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I've never pre-washed fleece before, never had it bleed either.

A friend asked me to sew some fleece pieces together to make throws - about ten years ago.

Different pieces shrunk at different rates - so I had a mess when I washed one of the throws -

I remember one fabric store that let their fleece drape on the floor, it was not usual to find footprints on the fabric ends. Maybe because of this, I need to wash it before using it!

I don't use a great deal of fleece but I do not pre-wash it either and have not had any problems. Always wash after quilt is finished before donation is made.

You probably should wash the quilt top before sewing it to the fleece backing. My experience has been that fleece does not shrink since it usually polyester but the "cotton" top may shrink. By washing top first you will not have to worry about the top shrinking and the fleece not so there would be no puckers when it is washed.

I am not a prolific quilter, but I am a prolific washer. Everything goes into the washer before I cut and again if and when I finish the project. I have been in a room with a group of quilters and many of them drag the quilts on the floor and often walk on them.

Fleece does not shrink or bleed. Often charities that accept quilts for children require the finished quilt to be laundered before donating so you could just wait until it’s fini then launder the finished quilt

I had some that shrank. It was from maybe ten years ago - but it did shrink.