Stummel

I just got the book about jelly rolls by Pam Lintott, and she says that the fabric shouldn't be washed and dried for obvious reasons. I now wonder what to do about fabric bleeding or transfer, especially if the blender is a white or cream?
My first jelly roll was a batik roll in blues, and I washed it a while ago and much of the colour came out, even though it was not cheap fabric and it came from a quilting shop.

melodylamour

I'd like to hear more experienced ladies/men have to say on this topic..........I wash EVERYTHING I get. Though I have read here before that it is cheaper to make your own strips than to buy jelly rolls. And that's logical. You buy a yard or so and wash that baby good, then you cut it up into strips or perhaps just a strip or two off each fabric that you'd want to do strips with. If I get strips from the back of the craft store in my local Cultural Center for say a $1 (all community donated fabric they resell), I wash those too and I don't care one bit if they will possibly no longer be 2 1/2 strips. I wash them cause some ladies pre-wash and many say they never have prewashed any of their fabrics until after they are completed.......I don't have hot water hooked up to my washing machine so I've personally hand-washed 8-30gal totes of fabric and omg sooo many fabrics bleed. I figure oh well if not 2 1/2" then I'll one day use them for other stuff like strip-piecing or for foundation paper piecing.

tlrnhi

If you are worried about the fabric bleeding, I would just soak it in the sink for a bit. Then roll it in a towel to get all the water out of it. I wouldn't put it in the dryer, for obvious reasons......

Jois

I have my first couple of jelly rolls and haven't done anything with them for this same wash/not wash question.

I have a couple of wooden and stainless clothes racks so I usually soak fabric in the sink in hot water and let them drip dry in a bathtub. But Strips?

What about those 5 inch squares?

k3n

I haven't used jelly rolls yet but would think the machine would chew 'em up good! I'd agree with gentle washing them by hand in some luke warm water - maybe with a cup of white vinegar added for batiks? I've done this on batik yardage that ran and it worked a treat. Just to be on the safe side, you could use a 'Colour Catcher' when you first washed the finished quilt.

quiltingfan

I have never pre washed anything, but I had some 5 in blocks that I made into place mats, of course they got dirty and I had to wash one of them the next day. I was very disappointed that it bleed and ruined the place mat. I will never buy them again, just for that reason. I can't imagine washing them and ironing them all.

watterstide

The fabric won't bleed, if your worried about it, buy the "color catcher" in the detergent isle of the grocery store..after it is quilted and you wash it, put one in the washer with the quilt...

i have a couple pattern that say not to pre wash the Nickles and Dimes. (5" and 10" squares)

Scissor Queen

There's no way I'm willing to pay that much extra for pre-cut strips and then basically ruin them by washing. They shrink a bit, the grain is off a bit and they get all wonky after you wash them.

Use them unwashed and then use a "Color Catcher" by Shout in the first wash.

Stummel

Thanks for all the replies!
As I live in the UK I have never heard of colour catcher and am not sure we have it here. I will take a look in the detergent aisle next time I shop though.
I wouldn't dry them in the dryer, but I washed them in the sink and drip dried them on a rack and ironed them all. For my first quilt I used metres of batik from a LQS back then and prewashed and dried them all, and when I finished my quilt had a tiny stain on one square, and when I tried to wash it out it did bleed horribly still and nearly ruined the quilt. Since then I am a bit paranoid.
I also soak everything in white vinegar for a while, and then handwash, but just yesterday I did that and the fabric kept bleeding a bit. :?

BellaBoo

If the jelly roll bleeds take the project to the quilt store and ask for your money back. I haven't had a jelly roll bleed so far. The only ones I have used are Moda. If word got around that Moda jelly roll fabric will bleed, Moda wouldn't be selling squat. The brand name of any fabric that bleeds needs to be known. I name names good and bad.