Preshrinking quilting fabric

[Paula494]

I have been told that it is best to preshrink all the fabric (top and backing) before cutting and making a quilt. I have also been told not to shrink any of the material. Does anyone have any thoughts about this?

[MAWmum]

you are right there are two camps on this some people ALWAYS wash and dry new fabric, others NEVER wash before.

Both have pros and cons

washing before you loose the "stiffness" that the sizing gives the fabric but if you live where you have silverfish that is a good thing.
Also if the fabric is going to bleed you know in advance.

Washing after you get the antique looking wrinkles and its easier.

I think it really comes down to what you want to do. There are no quilt police here.

[quilterbee]

I love the feel of new striaght off the bolt fabric, so I never prewash. I always use shop quality fabrics so maybe that's why I've never had problems before. Plus, I want it to shrink up AFTER I quilt it, not before. I like my quilts to look vintage. But, everyone is different and that's fun! Amie

[sadiedaisy1]

When I took my first quilting class it was at a JoAnn's and the teacher said we did not have to prewash our fabric-and we were using JoAnn's fabric-because material today (this was about 4-5 years ago) is made much better than in the past and has minimal shrinkage. I have made many quilts with JoAnn's fabrics and have never had a problem washing my fabric after I've finished the quilt. I was told to use Retayne in the first wash and that would take care of any bleeding and so far I've yet to be disappointed. So, I don't prewash any of my cotton fabric, regardless of where I get it. It does give you that crinkly antique finish as mentioned so if you don't like that, then prewashing is probably the way to go. Hope that helps.

[JudyWoo]

I agree with Quilterbee ... I love working with newly purchased crisp fabric and I want it to crinkle up after it's been quilted.

Besides, I don't want to spend an afternoon doing nothing but washing and ironing. That sounds like house work to me ... not quilting.

[gardenquilter]

i like my fabric unwashed just like quilterbee straight off the bolts sometimes i have had a feeling and will wash it then but rarely

unless i am doing restoration work then i was the fool out of it so i wont have a tear by mixing new unwashed with old 50 year old or older who did what to it

[cindyg]

It's personal peference. Prewash if you don't want a real crinkled look on your finished project. It will still crinkle some but not as much. Unless I'm using a pattern that specifically states not to pre-wash, I always set my colors with a vinegar bath and then prewash, no fabric softener or dryer sheets. Then I press it using Best Press to get that crisp feel back. Love the way it smells. One of my project was ruined because the fabric ran when I washed it. That was my lesson. But now they have Retayne that is suppose to set the color - I'm still skittish about not prewashing.

[sunsup]

I'm a pre-washer. I don't bother to iron till I'm ready to use the fabric. Then I tear off the selvage edges before I iron so the streight of grain of the fabric really is streight. And I use spray starch. But that's just me.