Prewashing Fabric

[Paula D.]

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

[Paula D.]

To wash or not to wash, that is the question :wink: 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.

[Gloria H.]

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!!

[Gloria H.]

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!!

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

[Gloria H.]

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

[Jenny C.]

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

[Jenny C.]

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

[Jenny C.]

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

[Jenny C.]

I prewash all my fabrics fat quarters and up to a yd I wash as follows

I snip the edge off each corner diagonaly before I throw them into the washing machine. Wash on a gentle cycle and then dry them in the dryer

I make sure I get them out of the dryer before they are baked and then iron them and fold them neatly so they fit in the drawers

Anything more than a yard I wait until I need it then I wash it separately.

By snipping the corner off the fabric it does two things - one it reminds me I have washed it and the second thing is it stops it fraying and getting ina mess in the washer

Regards

[Jenny C.]

I have found that if I use quality quilt fabric the fabric doesn't need pre washing. I do check overdyed or dark colored fabric for bleeding and if it does bleed I take it back to the shop. I won't pay for quality fabric and then have to set the color myself. That doesn't make sense to me.

[Jenny C.]

After a couple of bad experiences, and seeing an otherwise lovely quilt made by one of our guild members with un-washed fabrics that had both "crocked" and had shrunk at different rates, making the quilt look "wonky", I started back in the mid-1980s collecting fabrics and pre-washing each one before letting it into the collection. I keep my fabric in steel office cabinets, 6' high, 3' wide, and 18" deep. I have 15 of them. You can see them in the background in my studio pics at the Webshots album site: http://community.webshots.com/user/pknord if you like. I've had folks ask what I'm going to do with all that fabric. I give them a puzzled look, and ask them if they make that inquiry of people who collect stamps or coins? Some of us are fabric collectors, and that's okay. I have been going through the cabinets and removing fabrics that I no longer love to donate to some folks up in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area who have been making quilts to give to the families at Fort Hood who have lost loved ones in the war. They have made a lot of quilts for that purpose, bless their hearts. Have also done a few tops and sent up to them. They have longarm quilters who donate their time to quilt the tops. A very nice charity.

Well, this certainly ended up way of topic, sorry, folks.

Pat in Rockport, TX

[Jenny C.]

I forgot to say, when I take the fabric out of the dryer, I smooth it out and fold it neatly so that it fits in my cupboards. I don't iron it until I'm ready to use it. I wouldn't want to iron in vain, if I never use a particular piece. :lol:

[Jenny C.]

Thanks for all the advice. I feel much better now. I didn't see anyone's comment on putting vinegar in the wash water. I may have dreamed that up.

I tend to buy higher quality fabric. I just hate to go to Wal-Mart. It if could just "be there". My favority quilting store is a curb-store. I get out and walk in and pay the price.

So I'm guessing most of my fabric from your comments is fairly safe as is without prewashing. I will however, be careful with the dark fabrics from now on.

Thanks again for all the info.

Vonna

[Jenny C.]

Dear Vonna
no you didn't dream up the vinegar in the wash salt also helps set the colour
Jenny

[Jenny C.]

Just agreeing: vinegar is one of several things that can help set dyes. I keep the stronger "pickling vinegar" on hand in large bottles. It is handy for lots of things. in my laundry room, it is great for setting dyes, combatting odors, and best of all for neutralizing bleach, so my whites don't wear out as fast.

Vinegar or salt are easy home remedies for setting dyes. Just add one or the other to the water -- but more than just a shake of salt or splash of vinegar. If you are working with fabrics that you have reason to believe may have a lot of dye issues, like hand-dyes, go for the big gun: Retayne.

And for the other end of the process, I toss a dye-catcher sheet in almost every load of laundry, including non-art quilts. Alex and Ricky mentioned this in one of the first 2 episodes. There are two different brand available (Shout and Woolite) and in my very unscientific side-by-side comparison they seem to be about equal. Synthrapol is the go-to for removing runs/bleeds that have already happened. Carbona makes a color run remover too, but while I've never tried that one, I've seen the Synthrapol do amazing things.

Synthrapol and Retayne may both be available at your LQS. If not, and if they are not willing to order them for you, there are plenty of on-line sources.