To wash or not to wash

Help! I'm a little confused. I've heard people say they pre wash their
fabrics and others say they don't bother. I know it's probably best to
because of shrinkage and dye running, but do you really have to wash
everything i.e. scraps, squares, etc. or is it just large pieces?

Thanks in advance
Nada
(Melbourne, Australia)

Personally, I wash the large pieces only. If I get squished and it has
small pieces in it, I don't wash them, going under teh assumption that
whoever sent them washed the fabric before it was cut.

Of course, this is still fairly new for me because I never uesd to
pre-wash my fabric until I started quilting (about 2 years
ago).....sometimes I have forgotten to pre-wash and it never crossed my
mind to wash the fabric until after my prject was completed.........and
it was noticable in the finished item.

Larisa

Nada wrote:

Help! I'm a little confused. I've heard people say they pre wash their
fabrics and others say they don't bother. I know it's probably best to
because of shrinkage and dye running, but do you really have to wash
everything i.e. scraps, squares, etc. or is it just large pieces?

Thanks in advance
Nada
(Melbourne, Australia)

Nada wrote:
Help! I'm a little confused. I've heard people say they pre wash their
fabrics and others say they don't bother. I know it's probably best to
because of shrinkage and dye running, but do you really have to wash
everything i.e. scraps, squares, etc. or is it just large pieces?

You don't really have to wash the large pieces if you don't want to.
Most fabric doesn't shrink enough to make a difference, and most fabric
doesn't bleed or fade or fall apart. The question is how much of a risk
you want to take for the odd fabric that does.

You've made a beautiful quilt with fabric you've traded with other
quilters. They've sent the most wonderful charm pieces. You no longer
remember what you've gotten from whom, but you love it all and want to
use it in a quilt. You didn't bother washing the little scraps. The
quilt is gorgeous and complete. You've had it on your bed for a year
when you decide it is time to wash it. You do so. One of the red
scraps bleeds all over the white.

Now if that were me, I'd say the red splotches were a design choice and
not cry too long over the error, but I'd still want to avoid that in the
future. For that reason, I wash all the fabric that comes into the
house. In over 10 years of quilting and buying tons of fabric, I've
only had a few pieces bleed, but those few were enough to convince me.

--Lia

It's okay to be confused. A lot of us stand on both sides of the issue. If
you are making a quilt that will never be washed, you don't have to
pre-wash. If you are making a quilt that will get a heap of stains and grub,
you don't have to pre-wash. If you have in mind an heirloom of red roses on
a white background, you'd better. A lot of the decision depends on whether
bleeding could mean disaster in the long run. Polly

Nada wrote in message
...
Help! I'm a little confused. I've heard people say they pre wash their
fabrics and others say they don't bother. I know it's probably best to
because of shrinkage and dye running, but do you really have to wash
everything i.e. scraps, squares, etc. or is it just large pieces?

Thanks in advance
Nada
(Melbourne, Australia)

Nada, You'll probably still be confused after you see the answers from the
group! Prewashing is one of those subject that everybody has an opinion on.

Personally, I wash everything as soon as I bring it home from the store.
I've always done that, but it was primarily to ensure all the fabric was
preshrunk. A few years ago I had a good lesson that gave me a new way to
look at things, though. I bought some beautiful wine-colored fabric and
threw it in the wash with some other fabric I had bought for the same quilt,
one of which was a light blue (like I said, I was thinking more in terms of
shrinkage than bleeding, otherwise I never would have put them in together).
Well, when I pulled them from the machine, my light blue was a not-so-pretty
pinkish purple. I shudder to think what my quilt would have looked like had
I used the fabric and then eventually washed the final product! I washed
that fabric at least five more times (even tried putting vinegar in the
water and letting it soak), and it STILL bled. If I hadn't prewashed, I
wouldn't have known!

You'll likely get lots of other opinions on the subject -- some prefer to
allow the shrinkage to occur after the quilt is finished because they like
the effect they get. Others use dye magnets to ensure that any additional
dyes don't transfer to other fabrics in the quilts. Bottom line is: There
are no Quilt Police, so there are no rules. You can take the collective
thoughts you get from the people on this group and decide what will work
best for YOU.

And, I apologize if I missed a previous post, but are you new here? If you
are, welcome -- I'm glad to meet you! If not, belated welcome -- and I'm
still glad to meet you!

Louise in Iowa

"Nada" wrote in message
...
Help! I'm a little confused. I've heard people say they pre wash their
fabrics and others say they don't bother. I know it's probably best to
because of shrinkage and dye running, but do you really have to wash
everything i.e. scraps, squares, etc. or is it just large pieces?

Thanks in advance
Nada
(Melbourne, Australia)

Well, a scrap of bright red that ran on to other colours could make just
as much mess as a larger piece, unfortunately! So, from the colour
point of view, wash everything. If it's for shrinkage, some people
prefer a crinkly look. I don't, but I still prefer piecing to quilting,
so that's probably why.
..
In article , Nada
writes
Help! I'm a little confused. I've heard people say they pre wash their
fabrics and others say they don't bother. I know it's probably best to
because of shrinkage and dye running, but do you really have to wash
everything i.e. scraps, squares, etc. or is it just large pieces?

Thanks in advance
Nada
(Melbourne, Australia)



--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

I do not prewash anything, but happily use fabrics others send me that
is prewashed. You can not tell in my finished projects which was which.
Come on over and check out for yourself!
Christina

Nada wrote:
Help! I'm a little confused. I've heard people say they pre wash their
fabrics and others say they don't bother. I know it's probably best to
because of shrinkage and dye running, but do you really have to wash
everything i.e. scraps, squares, etc. or is it just large pieces?

Thanks in advance
Nada
(Melbourne, Australia)

I figure a person has to be at least borderline obsessive-compulsive to
become a quilter, so why not wash? Go ahead, you know you want to!
Pre-washing more than once, now that's sick.
I put some purple scraps from someone else into a recent quilt, and they
bled onto the white background. So you never know.
Roberta in D, Queen of the Scrap Heap, subjects occasionally rebellious

"Nada" wrote in message
...
Help! I'm a little confused. I've heard people say they pre wash their
fabrics and others say they don't bother. I know it's probably best to
because of shrinkage and dye running, but do you really have to wash
everything i.e. scraps, squares, etc. or is it just large pieces?

Thanks in advance
Nada
(Melbourne, Australia)

your answers to this will be like a whole can of worms Nada. Good luck
unravelling it all LOL

For the record I was everything when I get it then put it away ready for use

--
Jules
"Nada" wrote in message
...
Help! I'm a little confused. I've heard people say they pre wash their
fabrics and others say they don't bother. I know it's probably best to
because of shrinkage and dye running, but do you really have to wash
everything i.e. scraps, squares, etc. or is it just large pieces?

Thanks in advance
Nada
(Melbourne, Australia)

I "learned" the hard way I made a wonderful WH
with lots of detailed Appliqué out of unwashed fabrics
the result, It got rained on and some of the fabrics bled
all over my WH.I tried all kinds of products to no avail the
parts with run stains never came out . I almost had to toss the project.
instead I appliquéd over the spots.
Live and Learn this won't happen to me again I now rewash all fabrics
before quilting with them.

Diana in Dallas
"Nada" wrote in message
...
Help! I'm a little confused. I've heard people say they pre wash their
fabrics and others say they don't bother. I know it's probably best to
because of shrinkage and dye running, but do you really have to wash
everything i.e. scraps, squares, etc. or is it just large pieces?

Thanks in advance
Nada
(Melbourne, Australia)