Jenny and Margarita,
Thank you both for the advice! I do have a small lingerie bag, so I'll either use that or wash in the sink .... or maybe even use both options .

Suzie

Suzie

I prewash all my fabrics, for small fabric that are small, I prewash in the sink and then iron them dry.

Some times I even wash fat quarters in the sink, it seems to work great for me. I hope this helps, and good luck.

Margarita

Dear Suzie
Seeing you have a wide range of values from lights to darks it is probably better to pre wash. with the small pieces of fabric you could put them in a bag that is used for washing lingerie or you could use an old pair of panty hose tied of at the top and put it in the machine this keeps the small pieces of fabric together. we all wear crinkly clothes because i hate to iron. when my hubby's sees the ironing board out he knows a new quilt project is under way.

Jenny

I was really glad to see this post. The quilts I've made so far have all been for babies or toddlers and needed to withstand multiple washings, so I've prewashed the fabric. But I'm getting ready to begin a block-of-the-month quilt and don't know if I should prewash these or not. The fabrics are a wide range of colors, including some brights and some black prints, so fading could be a problem if the finished quilt is washed eventually. Should I take the better-safe-than-sorry approach and go ahead and pre-wash? Some of the fabrics provided are fairly small pieces, so it will probably have to be done in a sink rather than the washer. I'd really appreciate any advice from those of you with more experience at this than I have.

Suzie

GloriaH wrote:
I totally agree, hubby's shirts go out to the cleaners, but I can stand and press fabric for hours...

I pre wash everything. I'm probably nuts but I love a pile of new fabric waiting to be pressed. I love the smell and the feel of the fabric. That process helps me plan what I'm going to do with it all. And when they take me away to the funny farm, they better let me quilt!!

To wash or not to wash, that is the question I don't always pre-wash. I do if the quilt is going to be washed fairly frequently, like baby quilts and bed quilts, or if I am really afraid of running colors. Otherwise I just press the fabric with steam before I ever cut - this will help preshrink some so your peices don't shrink after you've cut and peiced. It seems to be a matter of personal preference over all though. If you like the feel of unwashed but want to prewash then I would suggest starch or sizing - just wait until you are ready to cut before you do it so you don't attract bugs to your stash.

I am sure this has been covered, but don't know where to look. I don't usually prewash. Just impatient and also like the crispness of the non-prewashed fabric.

Somewhere, maybe Simply Quilts, I read or heard about soaking your fabric in a sink with some vinegar to set the colors would work for prewashing. Then press the fabric with sizing or spray starch to get the crispness desired to work with.

Did I dream this or am I close.

Thanks for any clarification.

Vonna - Texas