marscrafter

I'm a wash and then give person only because of the stiffness from the new fabric. I also like wrinkly quilts so I tend not to prewash the fabric unless I think it will bleed. I also worry I may have a spot that I missed that needs to be sewn down or repaired.

MsEithne

Even if you use polyester batting, a quilt can be ironed LIGHTLY after washing. Set the iron to the coolest temperature required by the quilt sandwich and use a light hand to smooth, rather than squish the wrinkles out.

If there are any big wrinkles that don't want to come out with a warm iron and light pressure, I use a rolled up rag like a sponge. Dip it in water and then lightly brush along the wrinkle. Let it set in for a few minutes, then come back and use the warm iron again. I suppose you could use a mister bottle; I was taught to use the rolled up rag before mister bottles were common and just never got around to updating my technique (it gives me total control over where the water goes).

When I want my Mennonite quilt (over 40 years old now) to look new, I wash it, air dry, then fluff in the dryer and finally go over it with a warm iron. It comes out looking brand new again.

zoeytoo

One picture ... Worth a thousand words! Love that cat! Sure she knows no one will appreciate it as MUCH as she does. We have Suzie who claims one of our four kitchen chairs. I have to promise I will only sit in it for a few moments and even then she has a concerned look. Your quilt is lovely. I'd appreciate it even MORE than Itty Bitty :)

zoeytoo

What are color catcher sheets?

Both wash and don't wash sides sound reasonable. For my opinion, I'm clean but dust snd cat hair are not toxic so if you want to give me a hand made beautiful quilt with dust and cat hair, i am all for it. Even if you washed it, I'd probably wash it myself too. Just the way I am. But the dust and cat hair ... No Problem! I read somewhere that all the cleaning products that kill germs are causing people to not build up resistance to germs. True or not?

winter012

I always pre-wash my fabric, so never thought about washing a quilt before giving it. We don't smoke, so there's no odor to get out of the fabric. Also, all of our friends have pets, too, so we do put the quilts in the dryer on air dry to remove any cat/dog fur that might have gotten on the quilt.

DonnaFreak

I went on vacation to my nephew's house when I was working on my very first quilt, which I finished while there (I had the entire house to myself for 5 days!). I didn't know until I took my quilt there that he was a quilter too! He showed me how to do a Fat Quarter quilt, an example of which is below. I was fretting over some mistakes I had made on it and he told me, "Trust me, it will all come out in the wash.....literally!" He was right. After washing, mistakes I had made weren't even visible without doing a search for them. People who wouldn't know they were there would never even notice them! And as my nephew explained, "Even if a mistake IS noticed, it doesn't matter. Mistakes are what makes a quilt unique, and they also show how very much you love the person you gave it to. It means you worked really hard to make that quilt especially for them!" My nephew is a VERY smart man! :c)

desertrose

Vicky, If it were me I'd simply include a card that stated the quilts have been pre washed to remove any residue from the manufacturing of the fabrics and to pre shrink the batting. Explain that some people have allergies to fabric residue and you wouldn't want anyone to affected by them. It also leaves the quilt with a soft cuddly feeling ready for snuggling.

oldswimmer

I am curious too...how you pre-shrink batting for your quilts. In a machine, or bath tub? Thanks for any insight!

Sheree from Chicago

I'm sure it hs been posted a hundred times but how do you pre-shrink your batting? I pre-wash/shrink all my fabric. I recently made another Baby Genius quilt that my quilter used a thin polyester that she felt had the same feel as cotton. I didn't think so. So I should start pre-shrinking batting also.

Sheree from Chicago

I use a batik quilt that has lots of piecing/quilting and just luv it when it comes out of the dryer. It's kinda like my security blankee!