Material Witness

I recently preshrunk my batting in a front load washer with no problems. The only problem was that I was in a hurry, and didn't think to measure before and after.

meyert

I am really confused by this thread. I have never prewash/shrunk batting. My warm and natural package says prewashing not necessary. No I have to think about this. The only time I had crinkle effect was with hobbs 80/20. Maybe I just don't as close as some of you

suern3

My thoughts, exactly!

Jane Quilter

Its the dryer that will do most of the shrinking damage, not the washer, not the agitator. Please use poly to be sure.

kyquiltlover1942

I have dyed batting for my East Village grass. It shrank some. I put it in my utility sink, stirred several times with a rubber spatula, squeezed and rinsed several times and then put in the dryer on low heat, it did great.

Friday1961

Uh oh.....

I pre-washed mine in the machine, short, gentle cycle, because I'd read here that it shrank a lot and because it said it shrank a lot! Well, 3%, I think it said. I've not used it yet but washing didn't seem to hurt it; it looks okay.

bearisgray

Most battings come with directions - but you may need to look at BOTH sides of whatever papers come with the packaging.

Example: I was/am used to washing Warm and Natural - because washing before using it is OPTIONAL -

However, the paper that came with a Quilter's Dream cotton batting said DO NOT WASH before using - on the back side - in small print. The Quilter's Dream was really distorted from being bunched up in the package. The long-armer said it worked out okay, but it never laid flat for me.

Dar-midlife

I pre-wash or shrink mine all the time in my front loader. I put in on the soak cycle with warm water and then after that time, I spin it out and throw it in the dryer. Never have had a problem. I do cut it slightly larger to allow for 3-5% shrinkage so 3 to 5 inches longer than I need for a 100" quilt. Having said that, it does say the following on the W&N site : (copied and pasted directly from their site)
Pre-Wash & Care Instructions

Note that this step is optional. You will experience a 3-5% shrinkage with your first wash. Use cold water to reduce shrinkage amount.

Hand Wash mild detergent. Do not agitate or spin in washer.
Soak for 20 minutes, rinse several times.
Squeeze out water. DO NOT WRING. Rolling in a towel helps.
Dry in a warm dryer or lay flat to air dry.

SherylM

Well, for what it's worth, one day I wanted to see what would happen if I washed and dried some Warm & Natural by doing everything the package said NOT to do.

I had a package of the small craft size batting that wasn't earmarked for anything, so after measuring it I threw it in the washer on a hot wash, warm rinse, regular cycle with a fast spin. When it came out of the washer it looked OK...hadn't fallen apart...so I threw it in the dryer. Hot cycle.

Believe it or not, it came out fine. I measured it and it shrunk about as much as the package said it would. It's also nice and soft. I'm using it to back an embroidered pillow panel.

I'm not saying that I think it should be treated this way all the time (YMMV), but I don't think it needs to be treated with kid gloves either. With that scrim in it, it's pretty sturdy stuff, but I think the manufacturer errs on the side of caution with directions for pre-shrinking it.

With that said, I certainly wouldn't try this with Warm & Plush or any of the Quilter's Dream cottons that don't have scrim in them. With those, I think you WOULD end up with a pile of mush!