Why not wash fabric first?

Love Love the color catchers! Have done a red, black and white quilt and it came out great. Unless I'm making clothes, I never Prewash. The bit of shrinkage looks good after you have quilted it, it makes your quilting all crinkly looking.

I received some batik f/q's at Christmastime and have been a bit nervous about them since reading posts about pre-washing... Batiks are often hand-dyed, so you MUST pre-wash them. BUT, fat quarters are pre-cuts, so you must NOT wash them. BUT, maybe fat quarters are big enough that you MAY wash them...!! Oy.

So this morning I called Connecting Threads and the nice lady who answered the phone (and let's give credit where credit is due: I called at 9:30 a.m. East-Coast time, so it was only 6:30 her time and she was still very pleasant!) told me they do NOT recommend pre-washing. So I'm not going to, and I won't worry about it.

... BUT, I think I'll go out and get some of those color-catchers, for when it's all done.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. For now.

I started quilting back when lots of things (not just reds) ran and there was more of a problem with shrinkage. Since I like my quilts scrappy I mix my new and old fabrics for almost all of my quilts. I pre-wash all of my new yardage as soon as it gets in the door, even fat quarters, so that I know all of my fabrics have been washed before I pull them out to use them. What can I say? It's just the way I was raised.

I find that unwashed fabrics handles better - the seams are crisper and everything fits together better.

If the swap host requires unwashed, then it is the responsibility of the participants to deal with the potential of colors running. When I deal with intense colors I generally pretest them to see if they will run. I would not send out a runny fabric in a swap. But then there are color catchers. Some people will wash their precuts (or steam the heck out of them) before putting them in their quilts.

I never wash anything but flannel. NEVER EVER wash pre cuts.I prefer working with unwashed fabric. I do however iron before cutting. Whether washed or unwashed once the blocks are sewn together and washed it will be fine. I use color catchers on any quilt that has dark colors on the first wash. I personally prefer the soft comfy feel of a quilt once it is washed, than a stiff starched feeling one. Who the heck would want to cuddle up with something like that? lol

I don't prewash because I have a big family and do enough Laundry. I haven't had any issues thus far with colors running, flannel shrinking, maybe I've been lucky!! Knock on wood! I use color catchers when I wash a finished quilt. I'm going to do a red and white quilt next month so well see!