Originally Posted by toverly

Not only prewash but test your thread also. I just made an embroidery quilt using various colors in pearle cotton. The red ran. I had to redo two panels with red. It was DMC brand pearle cotton #5 from Jo Anns.

Originally Posted by Suzanne57

I have pre-washed embroidery floss before. To keep it from tangling, I threaded it through some plastic canvas, swished it through hot soapy water, rinsed and hung it up to dry. (Shame on me but it's still on the canvas. I have a pattern for a redwork quilt and didn't want the floss to run. Someday, sigh.)

Originally Posted by kindleaddict63

Can second the use of starch - i use to be so keen to get my project on the way i would try to avoid all the prep, however I get better results when i take the time to prep and highly recommend starch as it make fabric easier to deal with when applique is involved.