Why wash new quilts?

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Originally Posted by coffeebreak

How did people deal with color bleeding before these color sheet things for the washer came around? Those have just been very recent years...but people have been quilting for decades...and using the hated red fabric. I have noticed that a cotton/poly blend of red doesn't bleed but 100% cotton red does. Beware..wash before using...wash at least twice. I now have to go buy these sheets to hopefully cure a red bleed problem on white and my budget is thin and I know these sheets aren't cheap. How'd they deal with the age old problem prior?

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I've started using these sheets in all my laundry. I just told Mom about them, as she lives alone and has hi water bills and I thought she could combine some of her laundry loads. Sometimes they come out just as they went in, so i lay them aside and use them again. I prewashed some reds and the new sheet was just as red as the several reused sheets. The other weird thing I found out this week...my DH's work clothes.... black T's and jeans that have been washed for a couple of years now.....the sheets I threw in still came out a dark gray! Didn't expect that at all and sometimes I've been known to throw in some other dark colors in with those black clothes......hmmm, now wonder they don't look so bright anymore.

The second thing: I went to Amazon, thinking I could get them cheaper, but since I needed a box right now, I found that WalM had a cheaper price than ordering them by the carton from Amazon....somewhere about 3.50 for a box of 24.

And I don't know how they used to keep dyes from running, but I suspect that they prewashed everything, as I was taught to do when I first started sewing in the '60's. And before that, I think everything probably was prewashed simply because they recycled their fabrics from draperies to clothing to quilts to who knows what.

I like to wash the quilt when it's finished. On the one I made for MOM, It instantly showed me a spot that I had pulled out FMQ and hadn't redone. So that was a good thing. You can always iron and starch them out flat again if you don't dry them all the way in the dryer. I know, Cause that's how I fixed Mom's! and o yeah, I have a black dog.......

I love the smell of a freshly laundered quilt, especially if it has been hung out on the clothesline in the fresh air to dry. Plus with cats and dogs, it is always best to wash before giving a quilt to someone who might have an allergy to animal hair.

I never, never wash my quilts afterwards I love that crispness also and i tell who ever it is made for to either send it to the cleaners or hand was and line dry or fluff dry only.

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Originally Posted by cyndiofthevortex

I love the crispness of a newly quilted quilt. Many people here wash them right after quilting. Do you and if you do, why? I never have and I'm wondering about it.

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Could be they used plain white vinegar to set the dye. Same concept as easter eggs. All I know for sure is I could not live withour color catchers sheets any more.

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Originally Posted by coffeebreak

How did people deal with color bleeding before these color sheet things for the washer came around? Those have just been very recent years...but people have been quilting for decades...and using the hated red fabric. I have noticed that a cotton/poly blend of red doesn't bleed but 100% cotton red does. Beware..wash before using...wash at least twice. I now have to go buy these sheets to hopefully cure a red bleed problem on white and my budget is thin and I know these sheets aren't cheap. How'd they deal with the age old problem prior?

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I love the look of old quilts...so I wash mine to get the "old fashioned" look and like cat n bull I use mine so I like that cuddly feeling. As to those color catchers...they work awesome. We can't get them here in Canada so last weekend when I was across the line I picked up 3 boxes from Safeway for about $3.69 per box.

Years ago quilters pre-washed all their fabrics or their quilts were made from old clothing. I normally don't pre-wash my quilting cottons, so when the quilts are finished I give them a gentle wash with a few color catcher sheets to remove any soil, threads and chemicals that might have been used on the fabric. If the quilt is to be a gift, I love to give it the first washing in case any colors bleed and to make sure it's nice and soft and smelling nice. I like the way washed quilts look...more soft and cuddly. :)

I wash mine to make sure any seams and binding hold up, especially if it is a gift. Then the whole bleeding issue and cat issue too. I don't let my cats on anything I'm constructing but I do let my cats on me so sometimes it is transferred by accident.

kellie

Attachment 20099Attachment 20100These pictures are worth a thousand words! Had I not washed this quilt before gifting it, I would never have seen the seam in the block on the back had split! I was able to remove the defective piece and repair it by hand. I would have hated for the mom-to-be wash this quilt and have this happen to her. As this is a baby quilt, it will get used and washed alot. I also like the wrinkly affect that washing gives the quilt. It help hides my imperfect stitches from sewing the binding on by hand. I also have 4 cats and 3 dogs and even though they don't lay all over my fabrics and quilts, their hair is everywhere!!!

You know Cyndi, you have gotten all the bestest responses here. My reply is merely incidental.
I always wash when completed. I love the feel of a crinkly quilt. I also have a basement dweller named Dinah the kitty and as with all the others with kitties, they will seek out your favorite fabric or newest project. Also, each household I am sure you have noticed, has it's own fragrance. You know, like you can walk in someone's house and tell what they've been cooking for the past 10 years, or the dampness that creeps in some homes, etc? It will linger in your quilts too. You may not be aware of or smell your house "scents" but others do.

Also, auntiemern is correct. Vinegar and salt in cold water was the best for setting dyes. We used to soak new clothes or fabric in the washer up until fairly recently! It wasn't always foolproof of course and the vinegar scent fades away in the drying process. I am sold on the color catcher sheets.

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Originally Posted by K. McEuen

I wash mine when completed to remove any dirt, hairs, loose threads, markings, etc that the quilt may pick up during construction. Also and especially if I am gifting the quilt, I feel like I am better equipped to deal with any runs in dyes that might happen. I figure whoever gets the quilt will wash it eventually so I like to remove any issues they might run into.

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Same here. It is better to have something happen while it is still in your hands than to give and then it happen to them.