KatjaBraun wrote:
KatjaBraun, Well Done!!! I still have not found a background fabric. I have flannels washed, dried, and ironed. I do have a large piece of Kona Jet Black from a previous
project, and can always get more since it seems to be a staple at many shops. Since I am not a city girl, I will be redesigning to fit my life style. I love Wendy's pattern,
even bought her Round the Garden pattern last week, but have not got it yet. 2021 should be a really fun year. HelenW

Dear Helen,

I washed almost all the fabric, (Trees and streets not yet), put in plenty of color catchers and put it in the dryer, all went well. Thank you for your support!

KatjaBraun wrote: Hello KatjaBraun,
I put my cottons in the dryer to shrink them. Cotton shrinks and by putting them in the dryer it happens before you cut the pieces for the quilt. Some people don't shrink their
fabric because they like the wrinkled look they get when the quilt gets washed some time down the line. I prefer it to look like when I first put it together. Quilters preference.
Your fabrics are beautiful. Great selection. I get rid of the wrinkles with steam and my Rowenta iron. HelenW

Dear Helen,

thank you for your response. I can't get the two chemicals, or to be correct I would have to get them shipped from the US, that cost a lot of money, and the shipping and the time and customs here, so no not this time.
I bought the fabrics at my local quilt shop and it is mainly two series, one from Denmark called Quilters shadow Style. The other solids don't show much on the selvage, it is called swan. In total I found 22 different solids plus two greens with leaves print for the trees (I didn't like the greens in the quilt and I usally don't like green), and the black for the roads.
The fusible bias tape was available, but has not yet arrived.
For the background I found a design with clouds (yeah!!) from wilmingtonprints called "bringing in the harvest"
And for the inner bordera German Gütermann fabric with a night sky.
It is such an adventure! I read in the discussions in the German guild that they use plenty of colour catchers, I guess that is the way I have to go and to put them in small units.

Why do you put them in the dryer? I thouht of washing them without to much centrifugation at the end and to hang them to reduce wrinkles.
My washing maschine has a program at 200° degrees Fahrenheit, but that is for bed linens
Please find attached a photo of the fabrics.

KatjaBraun wrote:
KatjaBraun, Do you have Synthrpol or Retayne? They work really well, better than color catchers. I always put my fabrics in a laundry tub; hot hot water with Synthrapol
red, oranges together, blue, purples together, when doing batiks. They bleed a lot of color. If you have commercial quilt cottons most don't bleed much and you can do
lights and darks. I soak for 20 to 30 minutes then run them thru the washing machine on rinse and spin. Then throw them in the dryer. Barbara Black has lots of good
suggestions, just go back and read the posts. What fabric do you have? Name and type. HelenW

Okay guys, I am in Germany and have a European style washing machine . I habe a huge variety oft programs and temperatures to select from. What do you suggest. I thought of the silk/wool program.
Do you put your Reds for instance in one round and the lights in another and so on and each time with colour catchers?

Xflwrgrlx wrote:
I prewash all of my fabric when it comes in the house. I've found that if I set the dryer on medium instead of hot and take the fabric out before it is fully dry and iron it right away, it tends to be less wrinkled and easier to deal with. Also, the more fabric you wash together, the more the pieces will tangle. To save some ironing time, I would try putting one of the fabrics in the washer on rinse just to get it wet since it was already washed, then dry it on medium and see if that takes the major wrinkles out and gives you an easier piece of fabric to deal with.

OMG! I’m not in the habit of pre washing unless the fabric is hand dyed. But I took the advice and cut the 4 corners off, washed in Hot, lights - darks. I still got a very tangled mess, and also the fabric is very very wrinkled. I’m pressing with steam to try and get wrinkles out, very concerned I’m misshaping the fabric with the steam. Very time consuming and I’m sure I lost at least an inch. Hopefully I have plenty of fabric, I bought the kit. A new experience for sure. Sheila

I've always pre-washed fabrics. I have experienced bleeding with saturated reds, dark blues, and dark greens. Interestingly, I see the bleeding in the sink, with the block or a swatch of fabric. In the washer, it's less noticeable. Sometimes, one wash is not enough. Now I keep washing until the Color-Catcher isn't stained.

Thank you for the visuals. I'm now a believer in pre-washing.

bbquiltmaker wrote:
Sometimes a picture is worth a 1000 words. But read Barbara's words. That are all very, very important. I always wash my fabrics when I buy them.
Cotton fabric shrinks which can distort the look of blocks if it happens after the quilt has been made. Also, even if wall hangings are not planned to be washed
sometimes things happen that our out of our control. How about smoke damage, like all the wildfires in Calif. or a house fire. And you had to wash your wall hanging.
I would rather be safe than sorry.
HelenW

Box2wood wrote:
Great question, I hope lots of people chime in.

I pre-wash fabrics likely to bleed: dark batiks, red/purple/navy/dark green cottons, etc. I also pre-wash the Kits we sell at The Quilt Show so I can see what our customers may encounter.

Some pre-wash to remove finishing/sizing applied during manufacturing, especially if they have severe allergies.

How about the rest of you—why do you pre-wash?

Is it essential to pre wash fabric? Do the majority of quilters pre wash and why would you pre wash?

cmeader wrote: Yes I keep rewashing until the shout color catcher has almost no color on it. Usually one wash is sufficient. I had one batch of red batiks that took three washes with the shout color catcher.