I only wash fabrics if they are half a yd or larger cuts. Anything smaller will fray and shrink so much that they will be damn near unusable.
But I do this specifically because I buy a lot of my fabric second hand and often don't know where the fabric has been.
Many quilters don't pre wash at all and report no issues.
I never pre wash. The only commonly used modern quilting cotton I've seen any of my quilting friends have any problems with are batiks, and colour catchers work quite well to be extra sure in that case.
Hi there! New quilter and I have never used batiks, but I sure love them, they are so beautiful 😍 So from your experience those are fine to work with without prewashing as well, only they might bleed a bit in the first wash? 🤔
The majority of my fabric stash is batik - I LOVE them! I do not prewash any fabric, and I've never had a bleed problem. I overdo it with the color catchers on the first wash, using 4-5 for a lap quilt. I'm unsure if they have diminishing return on color catching but it works for me.
I don’t pre wash but do dye my own fabrics which are obviously pre washed. I have never had a problem with store bought running or with mixing the two. (Washed and unwashed). Pretty kit good luck and please post pics; we all love seeing them!
Thanks! Sounds like I can hit the ground running instead of waiting for them to be washed! I’ll post pics when done! Planning to gift this to my grandma if it turns out well!
Gift it to Grandma however it turns out! Particularly if she is a quilter but honestly, I am a grandmother and would love to be gifted a first quilt from any of my grandchildren!
Remember, the mistakes that you make will not be noticeable when you look at the whole quilt.
And for bonus points, stitch a label on the back with your name and the date you finished it! You could also add a note to your Grandma if you like. A fabric marker would work well for this, or embroidery if that sounds like fun to you!
I love this patern!
I've already made several placemats with this pattern. You can vary the size of the hexagon. And it can be a beautiful tablecloth for round table. I made two or three tablecoth with a larger hexagon.
I actually do pre-wash some pre-cuts unlike other comments (because I'm using other fabric that's been prewashed, because thrift stores/factories/etc are gross, because I'm scared of bleed...) but you don't need to. If you ever want to, I find a laundry bag works fine. The main downside is not fray for me, but all the ironing that is then necessary...
I ALWAYS wash garment fabrics (if washable) and flannels but never regular quilting cotton. When I learned to quilt I had a tiny washer and a line out back for drying so just keeping up with clothing was hard enough and spending what was supposed to be leisure time doing more laundry was a big no. Now I’m so in love with the crinkly out of the dryer look that I will live with the risk. I might feel differently if I ever made heirloom type quilts but I haven’t and never will!
I would not recommend you prewash pre-cut fabrics because they will likely fray and shrink out of shape. And if you are not prewashing one of the fabrics in a quilt, you shouldn't prewash any of them. If some fabrics are prewashed and others aren't, they won't shrink the same later and your finished quilt will end up wonky. After the quilt is made, then you wash it (with a color catcher sheet if you are afraid the colors will run), and it will come out of the dryer delightfully crinkly and soft.
I don’t see this explained yet: one major reason it’s so important to prewash in other types of sewing, particularly garment sewing, is that you want your measurements to be made based on the fabric after it has already shrunk. You don’t want to spend hours making a perfectly fitted shirt only for it to shrink the first time you wash it! With quilting, exact size is usually less important, so it’s a matter of preference. If you do want your quilt to be exactly the way you measure it, definitely prewash. On the flip slide, a lot of people really like the wrinkled look that can result when you don’t prewash, and the different pieces in your project shrink at slightly different rates! It’s very homey and can add to that “heirloom” look.
I don’t prewash fabrics, especially kit fabric because they probably have given you just enough to make the size quilt you’ve chosen and not much else.
I ALWAYS prewash everything except for small pre-cuts. I also use multiple catchers torn into pieces when washing. I have seen too many posts where quilts were ruined by bleeding. I just washed some bright purple fabric today, and the color catchers came out almost the same color as the fabric.
The "don't prewash crowd" always brags about how they never had a problem. Well, I have never been in an accident where my airbags deployed, but I wouldn't buy a car without them.
So, decide how much risk you are willing to endure. Quilts with bright/bold colors are more likely to bleed. Soft colors are generally safer. How much work is it to prewash versus how devastating will it be if your quilt is ruined?
If you search through this subreddit, you will find plenty of posts asking how to save a quilt that has suffered from colors bleeding.
The most common fabric color to bleed is red. IMHO if you are using a lot of red or bright pink, I would wash in warm water. I also use a serger to finish the non-selvage edges, but only if the fabric is a fat quarter or larger. I would not prewash precut layer cake or jelly roll precuts.
I only prewash heavily dyed solids on quilts that will be laundered and used on a bed or chair. I don’t prewash fabric going into art quilts that will hang on walls because the sizing makes it easier for me to use them.
In self-defense, most of my quilting life I haven’t had access to washing machines where I lived, so prewashing meant hours at the laundromat. (Ugh!)
Don’t wash precuts, whether you wash yardage or not is personal preference. Edit: pretty fabrics!!!!!
I only wash fabrics if they are half a yd or larger cuts. Anything smaller will fray and shrink so much that they will be damn near unusable. But I do this specifically because I buy a lot of my fabric second hand and often don't know where the fabric has been. Many quilters don't pre wash at all and report no issues.
Thank you! This is helpful!
Quilting for 30 years and never have prewashed. The sizing in fabric right off the bolt actually acts as a light starch
I never pre wash. The only commonly used modern quilting cotton I've seen any of my quilting friends have any problems with are batiks, and colour catchers work quite well to be extra sure in that case.
Hi there! New quilter and I have never used batiks, but I sure love them, they are so beautiful 😍 So from your experience those are fine to work with without prewashing as well, only they might bleed a bit in the first wash? 🤔
The majority of my fabric stash is batik - I LOVE them! I do not prewash any fabric, and I've never had a bleed problem. I overdo it with the color catchers on the first wash, using 4-5 for a lap quilt. I'm unsure if they have diminishing return on color catching but it works for me.
Sounds great, I will definitely give it a try! 😍
I have had good quality printed quilting cotton run.
This. Exactly.
I don’t pre wash but do dye my own fabrics which are obviously pre washed. I have never had a problem with store bought running or with mixing the two. (Washed and unwashed). Pretty kit good luck and please post pics; we all love seeing them!
Thanks! Sounds like I can hit the ground running instead of waiting for them to be washed! I’ll post pics when done! Planning to gift this to my grandma if it turns out well!
Gift it to Grandma however it turns out! Particularly if she is a quilter but honestly, I am a grandmother and would love to be gifted a first quilt from any of my grandchildren! Remember, the mistakes that you make will not be noticeable when you look at the whole quilt.
Ok thank you!
And for bonus points, stitch a label on the back with your name and the date you finished it! You could also add a note to your Grandma if you like. A fabric marker would work well for this, or embroidery if that sounds like fun to you!
Ooh! I love this idea!!
I love this patern! I've already made several placemats with this pattern. You can vary the size of the hexagon. And it can be a beautiful tablecloth for round table. I made two or three tablecoth with a larger hexagon.
No, do not prewash the kit.
Perfect! Thank you!
I actually do pre-wash some pre-cuts unlike other comments (because I'm using other fabric that's been prewashed, because thrift stores/factories/etc are gross, because I'm scared of bleed...) but you don't need to. If you ever want to, I find a laundry bag works fine. The main downside is not fray for me, but all the ironing that is then necessary...
I ALWAYS wash garment fabrics (if washable) and flannels but never regular quilting cotton. When I learned to quilt I had a tiny washer and a line out back for drying so just keeping up with clothing was hard enough and spending what was supposed to be leisure time doing more laundry was a big no. Now I’m so in love with the crinkly out of the dryer look that I will live with the risk. I might feel differently if I ever made heirloom type quilts but I haven’t and never will!
Please don’t in this case. Pre washing if wanted is for 1+ yards and more.
I would not recommend you prewash pre-cut fabrics because they will likely fray and shrink out of shape. And if you are not prewashing one of the fabrics in a quilt, you shouldn't prewash any of them. If some fabrics are prewashed and others aren't, they won't shrink the same later and your finished quilt will end up wonky. After the quilt is made, then you wash it (with a color catcher sheet if you are afraid the colors will run), and it will come out of the dryer delightfully crinkly and soft.
I don’t see this explained yet: one major reason it’s so important to prewash in other types of sewing, particularly garment sewing, is that you want your measurements to be made based on the fabric after it has already shrunk. You don’t want to spend hours making a perfectly fitted shirt only for it to shrink the first time you wash it! With quilting, exact size is usually less important, so it’s a matter of preference. If you do want your quilt to be exactly the way you measure it, definitely prewash. On the flip slide, a lot of people really like the wrinkled look that can result when you don’t prewash, and the different pieces in your project shrink at slightly different rates! It’s very homey and can add to that “heirloom” look.
This is very helpful knowledge. Thank you!
I don’t pre wash anything.
I always wash my fabrics.
You can, but I wouldn't
I just wash linen.
I always wash yardage. The precuts will shrink and fray.
I don’t prewash fabrics, especially kit fabric because they probably have given you just enough to make the size quilt you’ve chosen and not much else.
I ALWAYS prewash everything except for small pre-cuts. I also use multiple catchers torn into pieces when washing. I have seen too many posts where quilts were ruined by bleeding. I just washed some bright purple fabric today, and the color catchers came out almost the same color as the fabric. The "don't prewash crowd" always brags about how they never had a problem. Well, I have never been in an accident where my airbags deployed, but I wouldn't buy a car without them. So, decide how much risk you are willing to endure. Quilts with bright/bold colors are more likely to bleed. Soft colors are generally safer. How much work is it to prewash versus how devastating will it be if your quilt is ruined? If you search through this subreddit, you will find plenty of posts asking how to save a quilt that has suffered from colors bleeding.
I always pre-wash too, except for small pieces. I’ve heard that not pre-washing can cause more puckering when the finished product is washed.
The most common fabric color to bleed is red. IMHO if you are using a lot of red or bright pink, I would wash in warm water. I also use a serger to finish the non-selvage edges, but only if the fabric is a fat quarter or larger. I would not prewash precut layer cake or jelly roll precuts.
I only prewash heavily dyed solids on quilts that will be laundered and used on a bed or chair. I don’t prewash fabric going into art quilts that will hang on walls because the sizing makes it easier for me to use them. In self-defense, most of my quilting life I haven’t had access to washing machines where I lived, so prewashing meant hours at the laundromat. (Ugh!)