Fabrics often shrink at different amounts. So prewash then all will be ready for piecing.

I am not a risk taker -- therefore, I pre-wash. If it bleeds, it gets a Retayne treatment. There is just too much time and money at stake here to take chances.

Dayle

I do not prewash mostly because I cannot wait to dive into fabric and start cutting. I always wash the finished quilt and I use two fabric catchers just to be on the safe side. They saved me more than once!

The best answer/question for me would be "should you pre-test" for running/bleeding? I pretest every single batik for running/bleeding. I test regular cottons that are suspect for running and bleeding. As for preshrinking regular cottons .. depends.. on what my expectations for the final result. Flannel.. I would not start a project without preshrinking flannel.
There are so many opinions on this subject .. but I would say that all too often a thread is started .. that someone has had a fabric bleed and are heartbroken and desperate for a cure.

I think there are 3 groups of quilters. Group 1 pre-washes and always has. Group 2 never pre-washes and hasn't had a problem. Group 3 didn't pre-wash, had a problem, and is crying about it, but may or may not start pre-washing. I'm in Group 1, but Group 2 is a large happy group, although they occasionally lose a member to Group 3.

I don't prewash. I *do* test suspicious fabrics for bleeding. Testing consists of dropping a small piece in a glass of water to see if any dye bleeds into the water, and also rubbing the damp fabric against some white fabric to see if any dye transfers that way. If I have a bleeder, I wash in Retayne to set the dye. If the fabric continues to bleed after two Retayne treatments, I do not use it in a quilt.

Not pre-washing saves me tons of time, plus the sizing that is left in the fabric from the manufacturer helps stabilize the fabric so I have more accurate cutting and piecing. If I do have to prewash a fabric for some reason, I will starch it when I iron so it will be stabilized like the fabric off the bolts.

The first wash of my quilts is always with Synthrapol, which suspends unset dye particles in the water so they are rinsed away instead of settling into other fabrics.

Some people are concerned about unequal shrinkage of fabrics. However, if there is sufficient quilting, shrinkage is controlled by the batting. In other words, in an adequately quilted piece, fabric will not be able to shrink more than the batting shrinks. (Fabric shrinkage is an issue with tied quilts, though, because the layers do not "become one" with the batting.)

[QUOTE=Lisa_wanna_b_quilter;5507152]You will get dozens of responses on this. Quilters are divided. Many prewash everything and won't go near a piece of fabric that has not been washed. Others wash nothing. One thing they all seem to agree on is washing batiks because they nearly always bleed. Most agree that prewashing flannel is required because it typically shrinks so much. (Unless it will be a rag quilt and then most don't wash it.)

I'm one that prewashes everything, yes even fat quarters, charms,and jelly rolls,recieved as gifts, (use sweater bags for small pieces and jelly rolls,) I always wash and dry new fabric the same way I will the finished quilt and I always use color catchers. All it takes is one runing color or one fabric that shrinks a lot more than the rest and all your hard work is ruined. I have noticed a lot less shrinkage and running colors in the last few years, maybe the fabric makers are improving there products. Do what you feel best in any given case.

I wash everything but the batting LOL and the thread..That wouldn't be pretty...Anyway I don't want whatever stuff they spray to keep bugs out of the material and don't want to worry about bleeding or having it pucker odd it odd places.I starch the bejabbers out of it when I am ready to use it so it behaves and plays well with others

Good summary, Dunster!!!

I'm definitely in Group 1 ... I like to minimize the risks and know what I am dealing with rather than doing a lot of work and then have disaster strike!

And ... it should be remembered that it's not a matter of "washing" ... the bleed factor does not necessarily end with one washing. I've had a LOT of surprises with fabrics that I never thought would bleed and thankfully found out, and stopped that before cutting into fabric. Colour Catchers and Retayne are worth the added expense to our projects!!!! :)


Here's an article that came in the weekly QB newsletter yesterday that will give you some more insights into the subject ........
http://www.quiltingboard.com/resourc...iclenewsletter

Well, I guess here's another opinion. I just finished binding a baby quilt -- bound it by cutting the binding on the bias of a red/white stripe. BEFORE I cut the binding, I put the whole piece in a very large stew pot and cooked it (simmer only) for 20 minutes in a mixture of Rit dye fixative and water. You should have seen the water -- very pink, but no bleeding into the white stripes. Go figure? But, I just can't afford to take the chance, so I guess I'm committed to prewashing!

LOL A number of opinions is right!

Jeanette Frantz