SlightlyOffQuilter

We all know there are age old debates in the quilting world. Pre-wash fabrics or not ? Starch vs no starch? Steam vs no steam? The list is almost endless. This post is going to cover my stance on washing before gifting ! YES ! A loud resounding YES ! And this is why !




After laundering my recently finished "Missing The Point" quilt today, it came out of the dryer with EIGHT similar seams ! EIGHT ! I am VERY meticulous about checking my seams before freshly finished quilts are laundered. Even then there are occasions I may miss ONE. I have NEVER, EVER, missed EIGHT !


Now had I not washed this quilt before gifting it to its recipient, she would have had this happen when she first laundered it, and chances are would have thought SHE did something wrong when doing so. That is not fair to her to think she ruined her new gift, but also not fair of me to not have checked before gifting it !


So these are my words of wisdom to you. WASH BEFORE GIFTING ! I do LOVE how it looks post wash and fix now, HIGHLY snuggly and scrunchy !

Anoka Quilter

This is really good advice. Thank you! I also find that by washing before gifting us quilters can use those special products to avoid fabric bleed. I also gift quilts with washing instructions and color catcher sheets, even though I already prewashed the gift and did all that.

Jim's Gem

I wash all of my quilts before they go out the door. They each get a good checking over afterwards!

ckcowl

Hear! Hear! I am so with you on this- I never let a quilt go out the door without having washed it first- for this same reason. I have a friend who gifted a quilt one time that had not been laundered- the recipient had this exact thing happen when she laundered it- and cried & cried- then hid the quilt when ever the (gifter) came to visit- afraid to tell her- the (gifter) was angry for years- complaining non stop about how this *giftee* was an ungrateful.... : the *giftee* loved that quilt, thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen/received- it caused hard, hurt feelings for years- until an *outsider* who was a friend of both parties (me) could not take it any longer and broke a promise.
always, always avoid putting anyone in such a position---wash those quilts--- make sure they are going to stand the test before passing them on- save everyone's feelings!

nvb50

I always wash before gifting. One for the same reason as I need to check all the seams. It has happened occasionally with a pulled seam. Secondly, because I use Elmer's glue and need to wash it out.

feline fanatic

You are preaching to the choir sister! I too am a prewasher before gifting for this reason and many others. I am a hand binder so even on machine quilted quilts, the quilt is bound to pick up some dirt, skin oils and definitely pet hair from the binding process. So in addition to catching compromised seams, I wash to ensure I am gifting a clean cat hair free as possible quilt. I also prewash quilts I show too and go over them with a sticky tape roller in a pet free environment. CKcowl, your story is the perfect illustration of what can happen if we don’t wash first to ensure there will be no burst seams. The intended giftee will surely feel it is their fault and did something wrong. I would never want that to happen.

PS beautiful quilt!

Rose Marie

Always wash fabric before using and wash finished quilts. It does tighten up the seams a bit so you lose the smoothness. Never had a quilt come apart.

Jingle

I always prewash fabrics. I wash and dry every quilt as soon as I finish sewing on the binding. So far a seam has never come out. I use a smaller stitch and hope that makes it less likely to come out.

bearisgray

Preaching to he chois here.

One can also have problems if one uses "scant" seams with fsbrics that ravel easily. Even some LQS fabrics ravel a lot.

bearisgray

Pretty quult!

Preaching to he choir here.

One can also have problems if one uses "scant" seams with fsbrics that ravel easily. Even some LQS fabrics ravel a lot.