My rationale as well. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

I went back and started wshing all fabic I had... however do you wash FQ's.... What a mess. So many tangles.... I wonder if pinking shears would help. :)

Anyone who wore tight jeans in the 80s knows cotton shrinks a bit more after the first wash/dry. :). I'm a pre-washer.

Yeah, but back in the 80's my butt wasn't expanding in the opposite direction between each washing. ;-)

:lol: :lol: :thumbup:

I've always been a pre-washer. For FQ, I have a serger, so I go around the edges with that. I do lose about 1/8 that is stitched, but I figure the fraying would be at least that, and with the serged edges everything comes out of the dryer neat and tidy.

You people are too funny!

I have tried using pinking shears (or the pinked rotary cutter), and that does cut down on fraying. Likewise, using a mesh bag helps. I have friends who stitch the edges with their serger. However I've finally decided that it's easier to rip or cut off the threads after washing, before tossing the pieces into the dryer.

This topic is driving me nuts. I came out on the side of the pre-washers. Pre-washed everything, cut the miserable threads, dealt with out of shape fabric. Sized it back into submission. Had to wash twice AFTER I finished to get the starchy slightly sticky feeling out of the material (or it could have been too many drier sheets? unclear). Now this quilt looks used, puckery (80-20 low-loft 2% shrinkage batting) plus of course the material wrinkles up, and I think the thread shrunk too. Looks lovely in its way, but a little worn. http://www.quiltingboard.com/compose...picnum=114776#

So I read the recent posts, light dawns, and I am ready to go on the side of no pre-washing.

Then I hear this about fabric shrinking INCHES!

Anything that shrinks more than 1 1/4" over 42" is in my opinion too much shrinkage. At that rate (3%) an 8" block will end up being about 7 3/4". With cotton batting which shrinks about 3% too, seems to work ok. And cotton thread shrinks too.

Either way, it gets puckered up. I guess if you use quality fabric you can control shrinkage. And if you pre-wash it needs to be consistent for all the fabric, and the batting will have to take care of itself.

There, I've let off some steam. Too bad, I could have used it to straighten out the pre-washed fabric!



:-) :roll:

Dunster, when I can make something as beautiful as your avatar (in my lifetime?) I will rip fabric and fraying with confidence. Now, I approach fabric like it has a life of its own and its mission is not to get quilted by me. I pet it, I talk to it, I cajole it...LOL

Thanks for posting your results, its amazing how much fabric shrinks. I dont prewash but I quilt my quilts very heavy and it seems fine.