To pre-wash fabric or not
#41
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Shasta Lake, CA
Posts: 159
Golly, all the opinions can make your head spin. I don't make big quilts so take a chance on the small table runners. Hearing all the do's and don't makes me afraid not to wash. Sure wouldn't want to ruin a project that has taken me forever to finish. Can't see washing all my fabric first though not knowing for sure what I'm going to do with it.
#42
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Boston - Orlando
Posts: 464
I still prewash because I have asthma and the chemicals used in manufacturing/processing the fabric ha ve me wheezing in no time. If I go into a fabric store or quilt shop that either has inadequate ventilation or is small and close, I'm in distress in minutes. There's one shop I adore but can't stay in.
#43
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Lumby, British Columbia
Posts: 2,769
Originally Posted by Grandma Rosie
My friend bought a kit at a LQS & the owner said she no longer washes batiks prior to cutting the fabric. Am I the only one out here who still washes fabric first? We did prewash the fabric & lost a half an inch on one side. We're squaring up to 9 1/2 & it'll be OK, but I was amazed that "we no longer pre-washing fabric."
#44
Originally Posted by GGJudy
Originally Posted by patdesign
Originally Posted by GGJudy
Originally Posted by Scissor Queen
Batiks shouldn't shrink since they've been boiled to remove the wax resist. Batiks may shed excess dye but that's only a problem if another fabric picks it up permanently. On most fabrics even if they pick up some excess dye in the wash it's still not set and will wash out of whatever picks it up.
I don't pre-wash.
I don't pre-wash.
#45
Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Evansville, Indiana
Posts: 28
I just finished a baby quilt using Moda "Pure" charm squares. I did NOT pre-wash. After quilting, I washed on gentle cycle in cold water and used a color catcher. I dried it on a line. I had no bleeding, and the quilting showed beautifully
#47
I always prewash fabrics. I don't know who's handled them and what was on their hands, etc. I also want to be sure all the chemicals are washed away before starting on a project.
I don't work with batiks, so don't know how that would work out if they were washed first and it they run.
I don't work with batiks, so don't know how that would work out if they were washed first and it they run.
#50
I went for years without prewashing but this year an experience taught me to start.
I've found that dark batiks do bleed, so I prewash them. I'm starting to enjoy using more whites in my quilts, and I do not want the white to take on the colors of my other fabrics.
I've found that dark batiks do bleed, so I prewash them. I'm starting to enjoy using more whites in my quilts, and I do not want the white to take on the colors of my other fabrics.
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09-04-2011 07:48 PM