I love batiks. I do not prewash. I have never had a problem with bleeding. I throw a color saver strip in when I wash it and no problems. I use Bali Pops a lot and have not had them bleed on me. The most compliments I get are on the batik quilts I make. They are addictive and are my preference for quilting. My long armer has no problem with them even when the back is batik also. Different strokes for different folks. It's your quilt, do it how you want to do it!!