Help on the proper way of washing pieces of fabic
#1
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Marilla, NY
Posts: 6
I am thinking about doing one of the swaps. For the swaps you need to wash the fabric before you send the cuts pieces. I threw all my dark fabrics in the wash. When I took them out of the wash the fabric was fraying & knotted the fabric into a big ball. I lost alot of fabric when that happened.
How do I prevent this from happening again? I have more fabric to wash. Please help.
Thanks for the suggestion!!
How do I prevent this from happening again? I have more fabric to wash. Please help.
Thanks for the suggestion!!
#2
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,134
Try putting the smaller pieces in a laundry net next time.
Or just hand wash them and let them air dry (of course, I'd never in a million years do this myself because I'm too lazy).
Or safety pin the pieces together first before tossing them in the machine.
Or if it's a fabric swap, wash the bigger piece or fabric and THEN cut the swap size block.
This is why I never do any swaps or round robins anymore. ;)
Or just hand wash them and let them air dry (of course, I'd never in a million years do this myself because I'm too lazy).
Or safety pin the pieces together first before tossing them in the machine.
Or if it's a fabric swap, wash the bigger piece or fabric and THEN cut the swap size block.
This is why I never do any swaps or round robins anymore. ;)
#4
I have tried two things. Wash before you cut. Or if small pieces you can wash in a salad spinner works really well.
For larger pieces, I either pink the edges. But learned on here if you just cut a little edge of the fold in the fabric they do not ravel near as much.
For larger pieces, I either pink the edges. But learned on here if you just cut a little edge of the fold in the fabric they do not ravel near as much.
#5
Originally Posted by Get Away
I am thinking about doing one of the swaps. For the swaps you need to wash the fabric before you send the cuts pieces. I threw all my dark fabrics in the wash. When I took them out of the wash the fabric was fraying & knotted the fabric into a big ball. I lost alot of fabric when that happened.
How do I prevent this from happening again? I have more fabric to wash. Please help.
Thanks for the suggestion!!
How do I prevent this from happening again? I have more fabric to wash. Please help.
Thanks for the suggestion!!
#6
How big were your cuts? From the sounds of your post I would think they were small, and the garment bag/lingerie bag could be a good solution for you. I don't often wash anything smaller than a fat quarter.
How did you lose the fabric, was it so tangled you were able to untangle it? That stinks. :( Unless you have like ten yards of fabric it helps to wash on a getle cycle and you may only need 15-20 minutes drying time in a hot dryer. I try to keep it minimal because the longer you let them dry all those wrinkles set it and are harder to remove. You can usually spray out with a little water or best press any wrinkle from the dryer. Also when I pull my fabric out of the washer I snip threads and sort of shake out each piece of fabric before tossing into the dryer. If you toss that tangled ball into the dryer it will come out a tangled ball of wrinkles! Lol*
How did you lose the fabric, was it so tangled you were able to untangle it? That stinks. :( Unless you have like ten yards of fabric it helps to wash on a getle cycle and you may only need 15-20 minutes drying time in a hot dryer. I try to keep it minimal because the longer you let them dry all those wrinkles set it and are harder to remove. You can usually spray out with a little water or best press any wrinkle from the dryer. Also when I pull my fabric out of the washer I snip threads and sort of shake out each piece of fabric before tossing into the dryer. If you toss that tangled ball into the dryer it will come out a tangled ball of wrinkles! Lol*
#7
I tend to wash small pieces by hand after i had the same problems as you did the fabric came out of the washing machine in a massive tangle of knots and frayed cotton ends i could have cried lol when i saw it as some of the fabric had to be cut to get it out,,so I now hand wash, a lot of work but at least i have all my fabric pieces intact lol
#8
Originally Posted by stewyscrewy
I dont see why folks have to Wash fabrics... Why cant you just rinse them under running water. All you are trying to do is get the sizing out of them. wether whole pieces or small ones rinse in the sink. JMHO
#9
Originally Posted by stewyscrewy
I dont see why folks have to Wash fabrics... Why cant you just rinse them under running water. All you are trying to do is get the sizing out of them. wether whole pieces or small ones rinse in the sink. JMHO
You also may want to prewash not only to remove sizing, but to remove any excess dye before putting that fabric in a quilt. Batik's are notorious bleeders...and better to discover how your fabric will react to a washing or detergent before you spent 900 hours putting it into a quilt. ;)
#10
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,134
Originally Posted by pumpkinpatchquilter
You don't have to wash them at all if you don't want to. There are a lot of people who like to use their fabric fresh off the bolt then wash the quilt after to shrink it up and get a nice antique look. I don't prefer that look myself, and when it gets to scraps it's nice to have everything prewashed so they wear and wash the same when in a quilt.
Swap rules dictate that ALL fabric MUST be washed. Actually, I think it might even be the board swap rules.
Doesn't matter what the personal preference is.
I don't prewash, ever; ergo, I don't participate in swaps.
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