TheMerkleFamily

A topic discussed over and over... just received this interesting YouTube from "Just get it done quilts" where she makes three different quilts each with different pre-washed (or not) methods and shows the shrinkage and crinkle results.. Proof there's quite a difference depending on whether you pre-wash or not. I'm sure it would differ depending on various fabric, batting or thread choices, too.

No right or wrong here - just lots of options

https://youtu.be/7f0HCDygUeI

bearisgray

It would have been interesting if she would have also used washed and unwashed backings and battings.

joe'smom

That was interesting. Thanks, Christine!

quiltingcandy

That was interesting, Thank you! I will still pre-wash, but for me it's because the chemicals on the new fabric destroys my fingers.

cathyvv

Same for me, except my eyes and sinus are the problem.

christinelf

I am a pre-washer; my mom always said why spend the time on something and then find out it looks awful after washing. So I prewash. Thanks mom!

juliasb

One thing I do test for is bleeding on red fabrics or deep blues. Only then do I decide to pre wash. Unless it is a requirement for a swap or something specific. Other than that I stitch away!

bearisgray

I know I'm beginning to sound like a stuck record (which may be a totally foreign concept for very young people!), but I have had at least one bleeder from every color. Orange, yellow, green, teal, blue, purple, teal, brown, black, and red.

Some of these were from what I would consider "better" lines/brands of fabric -

jmoore

Thank you for sharing that informative video. She has some other great tips and tricks in other videos too.

peaceandjoy

I was turned off at the very beginning when she said that you need to either prewash all, or not at all. I do not prewash, unless required for a swap, and I don't do a lot of swaps. Still, those fabrics from swaps may be washed, and get used with my unwashed stash fabrics. In addition, I'm currently doing a Bonnie Hunter project that uses mens shirts. All were purchased at thrift or Goodwill stores, but some still had the tags on when I brought them home. Either way, they went into the washer on a sanitize cycle - super hot. They are mixed with shirting fabrics that are not prewashed. Bonnie has addressed this several times; she is given fabric, uses scraps, upcycled fabrics, etc. - so has a mix of washed and unwashed.

I have had only one fabric ever bleed (a red, of course), but it did wash out in a 2nd cycle. I've never used color catchers or anything else. I do like the crinkles (yes, crinklefication should be a word!), and the bit of puffiness that unwashed fabrics give me in my quilts.

I will say that I was impressed that she had the nerves to wash a flimsy! Even though the pieces were pretty large, I thought that might lead to a disaster. I once had a flimsy that DD's cat had used as a bed and was covered in fur; I struggled for years, literally, trying to decide what to do about it before I finally put it in the wash - and there was fraying of those seams.

My quilts are generally quite large, so if they shrink, meh. Interesting video, but not changing my mind, lol.