BuzzinBumble

My biggest reason for prewashing is that the shrinkage, even with high quality fabrics, really distorts how the quilt looks after washing. I found this out the hard way with a OBW made from Robert Kaufman fabrics.

AlaskaAlice

I try to prewash everything..probably because of experiences beginning close to 65 years ago. Some dyes bled as they do today. We used white vinegar, soda, hot water etc. Sometimes I forget to wash cotton bats ( don't like the crinkled look but sometimes even after washing their will be some shrinkage.) some shrink and some don't. I made 8 placemats for a friend and had added some strips straight from the store and I still look at them and notice some of the strips shrank some 1/2 in. She still likes them..
never tried the color catchers. or color guard..where do you get them?
Love this board (spend to much time here,though!)

ube quilting

I wash but mostly to get rid of chemicals and shrink the fabric back to size. Yes, newer high quality fabrics have less problems with bleeding but I would much rather be safe than sorry.

I might be like most quilters that use fabric from anywhere. Friends give me fabric, thrift shop finds and yard sales. I wash it all.

A lot of effort and time and love go into the quilts I make and it would be very sad to have problems just because of taking the very simple step of washing out of the quilting procedure. To me it is part of the whole enjoyment of the fabric.
peace

quiltgal

Depends upon the source of the fabric. If it is a national brand name fabric company, then no, do not wash. But if I do not know the source, then yes, I wash it.

ckcowl

i'm a sometimes i do, other times i don't...it depends on the fabric. if it's a hand dye, or batik chances are i'm going to pre=wash it, if it smells funky, or feels funky i'm going to wash it; if it's flannel & not for a raggy quilt, i'm going to wash it. if its just a regular print from the lqs - good quality quilting fabric theres a good chance i won't...unless its a very vibrant/saturated color that might bleed....just depends....i pretty much base every thing on the current situation- no hard/fast rules. pressing- sometimes open, sometimes to one side, sometimes finger press, sometimes dry iron, sometimes steam....every individual project has it's own *needs* and i treat it as i think it should be treated at that moment.

fuzzball

I never pre-wash. The fabric clings to itself better which is great for piecing. I use to prewash until I took a class years ago and we were told not to wash our fabric.

Geri B

Perhaps your take up tension of backing was not the same as your top roller...since you are using a longarm....is the quilt pieced by you?.. Just curious....

Gramily

I agree with Sandygirl. I haven't washed any fabrics since I started using Jelly rolls. If there is any shrinkage, I haven't noticed it. mily

bevster

I love dark fabrics, your red's, blue's, etc. I always wash with a Color Catcher, it is amazing how the fabric bleeds. If you give your quilts away you sure do not want anyone to make the mistake washing the quilt and having it bleed ... how sad.

qbtexas

If any doubts, see my thread here: http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...g-t218165.html
I had blocks from a block exchange from around the country, and other people don't pre-wash, either. Granted, I haven't been a big pre-washer (depended on fabric), but now I might just have to start. It's been a not-so-fun evening and morning messing with this.