mtkoldra

can I prewash fabric by soaking it in a hot water ? or should I use a detergent and rinse? would it prevent frying of the edges?

IQ2

I recently purchased a pinking blade for a rotary cutter and used that on the cut edges before I washed the fabric in the machine. NO FRAYING!! I had read the tip on this board (of course!). I had to buy the upgraded model of the rotary cutter for the specialty blade, but used coupons at JoAnn and it was well worth it.

KalamaQuilts

for 40 years I've been soaking my new fabric in hot water at the sink, wringing and pitching in the dryer
More so everything is shrank that is going to shrink
It does show some of the most awful bleeders though. Those I save for wall quilts that will never be washed.

easy peasy.
I don't have any trouble with strings, just a few odd balls.
long thin pieces like 1/4 or 1/3 yard cut from the bolt, those seem most likely to fray. They also wrinkle terribly in the process so I just quit buying them.

I don't do precuts can't speak for them
I have a friend in Canada who did a 5" sq. swap, she threw them in the sink in hot water and then stuck them on the wall of the tub/shower. When they fell off they were dry.

ckcowl

It would depend on your reason for prewashing. If you are doing it to remove the sizing, chemicals, soil & oils you would want to use detergent.... You can still do it by hand if you want. If you are doing it simply for shrinkage the dryer does as much as the water. If you are doing it because you have a 'bleeder',I would think you would again want detergent (and a lot of swishing) to make sure you get all of the running dye removed

Terri D.

You can soak your fabric in water prior to cutting into it. I don't recommend hot, though; warm should suffice. Soaking is probably more efficient when you just have a fat quarter or two. Soap would be optional; what you're looking for is bleeding and to pre-shrink. Without the agitation, there would likely be less fraying, although it's most likely impractical to soak cuts much larger than a yard.

Jeanne S

I soak mine in the sink all the time--MUCH less fraying that way. I use warm not hot water and a little Woolite. I am doing it for bleeders and shrinkage, not because of allergies though.

KLO

This is exactly what I have been doing for years also although if I have a lot of fabric to do, I throw it in the washer to spin the water out on a gentle cycle before drying. Usually I don't even put new fabric in my sewing room until it has been washed.

joe'smom

I use a little Woolite whether hand washing (pieces smaller than a fat quarter) or machine washing. I spin the hand washed items in a nylon mesh bag before hanging them, and haven't had a fraying problem. I hadn't thought of drying the smaller, hand washed items in the machine in the bag. I suppose that might work, too.

mtkoldra

thank you all for your inputs.
my reason for pre washing is mainly for shrinking, some for bleeding
since I want to start new project I have looked through my fabrics today and found some that have not been pre washed, thus my question just to be sure
thank you again

DogHouseMom

I wash in the sink quite often. I use the hottest water I can muster to make sure that bleeders bleed completely and to shrink everything completely. I use a wooden spoon to stir it up. I do use detergent as well. I'll keep washing bleeders until bleeding stops. I also use color catchers in the sink. Multiple rinses in cold water, and dry in a hot dryer.