To Wash or not to wash? that is the question.

Question

I have heard to always wash my fabric...but I really just want to cut into it and get going. Is there a problem with not washing it?

Comments

For me, it depends on the project.  If I know the item will be washed at some point, then prewashing is important.  But for a wallhanging, I never prewash.  There are also products you can use such as Shout Color Catcher or Retayne when washing your quilt.

Answer 1

If you don't pre-wash your fabric, you do run the risk of having the colors in your finished quilt run when you wash the quilt. You may talk to a hundred people who have never had this happen, but it happened to me once. The blocks of my quilt had a muslin background and the blocks were tiny pinwheels. I mean they were tiny--1 1/2'' finished pinwheel blocks. It was an accomplishment! Then I washed it and one of the colors of the pinwheels bled onto the muslin! It was so-o-o sad. I say prewash, better to be safe than sorry!

Answer 2

If you do not prewash, you also run the risk of different fabrics shrinking at different rates.  Even though the fabrics may all be 100% cotton, different weaves in each fabric can affect whether or not the fabric shrinks.  This difference in shrinking can cause your blocks or your total quilt to end up looking stretched, wrinkled or pulled.  For me, the best rule of thumb is to wash, regardless of the project I am working on.

Answer 3

I was taught to always wash my fabric. However, early in my quilting, I was so anxious to get started, I would be cutting strips and realize I had forgotten to wash the fabric. It did not seem to affect the finished results that I wanted, so I dropped washing and ironing before I work with the fabric. I find that I like the finish that is already on the fabric and I don't spend time on a process that doesn't usually affect the end result.

I have had a few quilts that had a fabric that ran. Specifically a red and off-white quilt with red crochet thread for a large hand-quilted stitch, where the red fabric and thread ran. I used the Shout Color Catchers in the first wash (three of them). Because they came out very pink, I washed it a second time with two, a third time with one, and a fourth time with one. Finally they Color Catcher came out clear. That was a lot of work for this one quilt, but that was fine with me. That amount of time for one quilt rather than all of the hours required for the many quilts that I have made.

If I have a fabric that I think is going to run, I am sure to not let water get near it until I know that I have washed it.

I do know of someone that is allergic to the chemicals in the fabric, and has to have someone wash her fabric before it even comes into her house. This is an extreme, but she knows what she needs and why she does it.

Knowing yourself and making an educated choice is the answer to your question. If you are not a risk taker, then wash it. If you like the process of washing, ironing, and adding a finish back in, then do this. (We do like working with fabric and this is one more opportunity to play with it!) If you want to get more done in the limited time you have, then do not wash. Whichever you choose, do it because it fits your needs, not because someone told you that you have to always do it.

(Education is what this site is all about. Seeing several answers with options, learning from others' experiences.)

Answer 4

I preshrink everything, except fabric that I plan to use in Stack-N-Whack or One Block Wonder quilts. (The precise layering for the cutting of these types of quilts requires the fabric to retain it's factory stiffness. I usually wash these quilts after they are completed so they are softer.) Most quilts, even wallhangings, will get dirty or musty & need to be cleaned at some point. If the fabrics are not preshrunk, they may shrink differently, causing the quilt to become distorted. Don't forget to preshrink your backing also!

The method I use for preparing fabric is:

1. Test for colorfastness of darker colors, reds, violets, teals, blacks, etc.

2. Place similar colors & values together in the washing machine. I use the rinse cycle on warm. I don't use soap except to wash excess color from fabrics that are not colorfast in a separate load.

3. Tumble dry in the dryer on medium heat. Remove them from the dryer right away so wrinkles don't get set. I don't iron them, but I smooth out the wrinkles & fold them up neatly for storage.

I like to have everything ready to go when I start pulling fabrics from my stash for a new project & I don't want to have to remember what is preshrunk & what is not, so nothing goes on my shelves unshrunk except as noted above & they go in a separate stack. Before I cut the fabric, I spray with sizing to restore some of the stiffness & press well. I don't use starch because bugs like to eat it (and your fabric with it!) If you use starch to make the fabric easier to piece, don't leave the quilt top laying around as a UFO, & be sure to wash the quilt after it is finished

The method I use for washing quilts:

For small quilts (full or smaller) I wash them in my front loader machine on the gentle or delicate cycle. (I do not recommend washing quilts in a top loader, the action is too harsh.) I use Dreft baby soap, or one of the quilt wash produsts, but NOT detergent. For larger quilts, you can hand wash in a bathtub (difficult), or have them professionally cleaned.

To dry the quilt, I spread old towels on plastic tables or the floor, depending on the size of the quilt, and spread the quilt out on the towels to dry. (When it is damp, you can block the quilt by smoothing out areas that might be uneven.) I have ceiling fans, so I turn those on to keep air moving to help the drying. After a few hours, I turn it over so the other side gets in the air. I don't recommend using a dryer (unpredictable) or hanging on a line (causes distortion).

These methods have worked for me for many years.

Answer 5

Prewashing your fabric is a personal decision and there is lot to consider. Like this.

I've had several fabrics bleed heavily that have been prewashed. That's cause I wasn't checking for color fastness but more concerned with shrinkage.

Also I've had big quilts shrink as much as 5" cause I used cotton batting that hadn't been preshrunk.

Lately, my personal preference has been leaning more toward not prewashing. But I like to iron and the puckers from the shrinking!