Originally Posted by cabinfever
Originally Posted by katykwilt
prewash...to preserve the fabric. I have had older, unused fabrics discolor and have seen insect damage where they have feasted on the starchy sizing. When I use it I press and starch as needed.
Good points!! So now do I need to unearth years of stash & do a marathon washing session? Haven't ever seen any bugs in mine but who knows; mine are all in bins sorted by color or style (floral, novelty). My sewing room is in an outbuilding (insulated) with no food, etc., but I guess that may not help.
When I figured out the problem, I did just that -- however, I just put a few yards in like colors when I did the wash. I decided to fold it by holding onto the selvage on one side rather than salvage to selvage. It helped me figure out how crooked it was cut as well as know what I'd washed and hadn't. Mind you, some of the fabric had been purchased in MS as mill ends at $1/yd or less, directly at the old mills. We have lived all over the US, so what hadn't been used had been in all kinds of climates, etc.