bearisgray

Those of us that think every square inch of fabric should be soaked/washed before putting it into a quilt will figure out a way to do it.

Those that don't, will also figure out reasons to skip/omit that step.

As has been said many times - our quilts/items, our processes.

I had bought some cut strips at a yard sale - the brand was Hoffman or Kaufmann - they were 2-1/2 inches "before" and 2-3/8 inches "after" - and this was from my "gentle wash by hand in tepid water is adequate" era. They did not ravel. I was surprised by that amount of shrinkage. Washed and rinsed in a basin and dried on a wooden drying rack. I

Also - my Mom had bought some 5-inch charm squares from ? - some of them stayed about the same size - one of them shrank to 4-1/2 by 4-3/4 inches. Seemed noticeable to me.

As I have also stated numerous times, I have measured "before and after" many pieces of fabric. Shrinkage has varied from almost none to over two inches in width (Michael Miller black) and/or two inches in length (Legacy muslin from Jo-Ann)

So far, I have not been able to tell by looking how the piece will shrink - if at all - or in which direction - before it is "treated".

Just sharing what I have learned.

If I wanted to go for the puckery look (which I don't) - I would go for even shrinkage caused by the batting and quilting.

I agree that it is "a bother" to wash fabric before cutting/using it. Most fabrics, if treated gently, come out looking nice after being washed.

I once bought some chamois type flannel (through e-bay) - beautiful stuff - the shrinkage on a 6 yard piece was less than 1/4 inch per yard. i was amazed!

My overall points are:
fabrics vary in how much they may shrink
The dyes vary - from being very stable, to "excess dye" which is manageable after a few washes, to never stop releasing dye (a bleeder)
Brand name or color is not an accurate predictor of fabric behavior

When I say "hundreds" of measurements - I do mean hundreds.