Originally Posted by
Lisa_wanna_b_quilter
It seems to me on the never ending debate about pre-washing, the best thing to do is the same thing to all the fabric in the quilt. If you wash, I'd say wash it all. If you don't wash the precuts, maybe you shouldn't wash the yardage for that quilt.
Exactly! If you wash precuts they unravel, shrink, and generally make a miserable mess. Patterns created for precuts count on your having exactly 10 or 5 or 2.5 inches to work with. Make the whole quilt, quilt and bind it, THEN wash. The whole thing shrinks together, plus I believe that a good quilt job lessens the shrinking a bit. If you have strong colors that might bleed, use cold water, Retayne or other products to lessen the problem. If you really feel the need to wash your precuts, you will be better off just washing your fabric yardage then cutting the 2.5 or 5" you want.