weezie

This is not answering one of your questions, but I bought a bolt of wide white muslin at Joann's at half price a few years ago. Not good quality, I found, but excellent for quilt frame leaders and other odds & ends, such as the quilt top washing episodes.

Yes, I only basted around the four edges. Washed on gentle cycle, cold water (Shout color catcher instructions do not specify a water temp.) and I hung them on an inside clothesline in the basement. They are king sized quilt tops; the bigger the quilts are, the less I'm inclined to put them in a clothes dryer, even on air fluff. If it's neither sunny nor raining, I can hang them on an outside line. Since yours is undoubtedly small-ish, you could even hang it over a bathtub or in a shower, if you have a clothes rack & no inside line, in case it drips water. If none of those options work for you, I don't think it would hurt to damp dry it in the dryer on air fluff or possibly even a warm temp for a while.

Rachelcb80

It worked, it worked!! Happy dancin' over here! :)

I basted the outside edges to some cheapy muslin I picked up at Walmart, said a little prayer and tossed it into the wash. I used a Hot/Cold cycle since the Synthrapol says to use hot water for the first wash. I also threw in two Shout color catchers. Not only did the questionable fabric not bleed into surrounding fabrics, the area where it had bled came out! The back seams frayed ever so slightly, though not enough to cause any concern.

So my top has had it's one needed bath and can now get quilted and be done!

grann of 6

Good! I am so happy for you! Isn't it great when things work as they should?!?!?

weezie

This is all good!

MadQuilter

I washed a top - by hand - because it was full of dust, dirt, and nicotine. OMG what a mess. I should have left it alone and dealt with the grime later. Now it is waiting for me to press it back into some semblance of order. Not sure how well that plan will work out.

quilterguy27

So glad it worked out for you! Now, if I need to prewash a top I will know what to do. Thanks so much for asking.

MableHigh

I folded my quilted top in half, did a basting stitch on the three raw edges and then one down the center. Washed on thhe gentle cycle. There was very little fraying and it held it shape very well.
I also added one of the Shout Color Cathchers just in case one of the fabrics did bleed.

justflyingin

Don't! Ask me how I know.

Oh never mind. I see that you added a back, and then washed and it worked. Glad it did.

I wouldn't wash ever again, a top without a back on it. I've done it, and no, it was not a good idea.

Love_Quilts

I feel like it is ok to wash it after finishing the whole quilt. You can wash it in gentle cycle.
After the first wash, the batting and the cotton can get preshrunk.

Mdegenhart

I would not put it in the dryer. When I wash precuts it is in the dryer that they really fray.