SusieQOH

I like to simply because I have 3 cats and they shed everywhere.

dunster

Unless it's a wall hanging, I wash it. By the time it's finished it's been handled, possibly starched, and drug across the floor. I love how a freshly washed quilt looks and feels.

Jingle

I always wash my quilts when finished, no matter whom will get them. Sometimes I use washable markers and I just want them clean.

I always prewash fabrics, I do not buy precuts.

osewme

I always wash my quilts before using them or before I give them away. I like to give the quilt to the person washed because a quilt looks so different after it is washed & I don't want them to think they did something wrong while washing it because it doesn't look the same...more crinkly looking after washed. Hope that makes sense. It's kind of like when I give away my fresh, farm raised chicken eggs. I always tell them that they the yolks are much thicker & darker yellow than store bought eggs & the whites are not all runny. That way they don't think something is wrong with them.

feline fanatic

I always wash before gifting for all the reasons already stated but mostly to ensure the quilt is structurally sound. If a seam is going to pop, I want the quilt still in my possession so I can repair it. But just as important is the reason osewme stated. There have been stories here that quilters have shared that the giftee thought they had ruined the quilt on the first washing because it did come out looking so different. This is especially true of any batting that has a shrinkage of any amount. Even battings that have supposedly zero shrinkage (like polyester batting) can change the look of the quilt after the first washing. I like to be able to tell my giftees that the quilt can be safely machine washed and tumble dried because I have already ensured that it can be.

Jordan

I never wash my finished quilts and most of them are for gifts. I don't like the crinkle look so just hope for the best when the recipient washes them and hope for no bleeding. Any advice on what batting to use for the quilt not to crinkle???? I always wash my fabric before starting a new quilt.

Onebyone

I spray my cotton and cotton blend batting with water and put in the dryer on high heat. It's not going to shrink in the quilt.

ckcowl

ALWAYS. I consider it the final step to completion. I would never let a quilt go out the door, gift, sale, donation, entry , without having laundered it first. Anything happens during that step I want to know- not an unsuspecting person who could be devistated by the outcome.

NoraB

I always wash my quilts before gifting also. I use a Color Catcher also.

Barb2018

I also consider washing to be the last step in the whole process. I wash it in Arm & Hammer Free on cold gentle wash with multiple color catchers and dry it on low. No fabric softener, no bleach, no dryer sheets. I have three cats and two dogs, sew next to the kitchen, and in this warm weather I frequently have sweaty hands. I always inspect the quilt after it's dried; it it passes my picky QC (with lint roller in hand), it goes right into a scent free bag until it goes to it's forever home. With washing instructions....