I love the feel of NEW fabric. It’s so smooth and firm. I always ask instructors what their preference is when it comes to pre-washing. It’s 50:50 depending on the quilter. It would be so much easier if the answer were consistent! I wouldn’t be sitting in this “gray” area on the topic. I’m a big fan of “rules”. But unfortunately, this is one of those area’s that’s the choice of the quilter. So off I go on a researching adventure to figure out how to choose.
Fibers in fabric are stretched taut when manufactured and some fabrics relax more than others. Not all fabrics shrink per say, but more so relax. If you have multiple KINDS of fabrics in a quilt, one relaxing more than another could be a really BAD thing. Part of what we see as shrinkage is actually the relaxation of the cotton fibers as they try to return to their natural state. If you want a more vintage look to your quilt, and patches are big enough that shrinkage-more so relaxation-would add to the appeal of the quilt….don’t prewash. But if you have smaller, more intricate pieces, and intense quilting……prewash. If you prefer to work with stiffer fabric, AND want to prewash, use spray starch or sizing to reintroduce stiffness.
I hope you learn from MY inexperience….
I tried pre-washing for a class once. The instructor was insistent that we wash our fabrics before we begin assembling our blocks. I had 1/2 yard pieces and 1/4 yard pieces. I threw them in the washing machine, threw in the mild detergent she suggested, and had Synthrapol on hand like she suggested in case any colors bled. She told us a horror story of a raffle quilt bleeding all over itself 2 days before the raffle and how she was up for 48 hours straight appliquéing over patches to hide the bleeds. I was ready in case bad things happened and was so grateful that I was armed with this knowledge BEFORE the quilt was finished. I was astonished when the washing machine stopped to find a completely different nightmare…..
ALL of my fabrics had frayed and knotted themselves into a twisted pile of sheer chaos. There were knots upon knots upon knots. Some of them tied so tightly, I had to cut them with scissors to get them off. So I sat on a stool in front of the washing machine, tugging and pulling and cutting what seemed like THOUSANDS of threads. As I sat there, I realized some of the threads I was pulling on, were making gathers in the fabric. Near tears, I thought $100 worth of 1930’s fabric was ruined. I tossed them all in the dryer and figured once they were dry, maybe it would be easier to get the threads off. 40 minutes later……I had PERMANENT PRESSED accordion folds in most of my pieces, that no amount of steam in the world seemed to touch.
To make a long story short…..I have since learned a few lessons.
1. There are OTHER settings on my washing machine besides “Heavily Soiled”. The Gentle\Delicate cycle doesn’t agitate nearly as much.
2. Fill the washing machine to it’s capacity water wise, no matter how little you have thrown in there.
3. There is a LOW Heat – Delicate cycle on the dryer too! (who would have thunk!). I also use clothespins and hang the pieces in the basement to dry as well.
4. Anything under 1/2 yard could be better suited in a lingerie bag or pillow case.
5. IMPORTANT – clip off a little triangular section from each corner of fabrics before you wash them. Try about 1/2″ or a little less. You’ll still see a bit of fraying, but not enough to create bunches of knots.
6. For Smaller pieces of fabric (including strips, charm squares, jelly rolls, and “inherited” scraps): fill the washer with lukewarm water and Mild laundry soap, push the fabric into the water, and let it SIT for *20 minutes*, swishing it occasionally with your hands (NOT agitating). Then drain, and rinse the same way – pushing it into the water several times, but NOT agitating. Spin if you’re feeling daring, untangle if necessary, and toss into the dryer on low heat. Or avoid the dryer and lay the pieces on towels or hang. If you do not agitate, you have almost no tangling or fraying.
7. A GREAT tip from another quilter was to put a pinking blade in my rotary cutter and pink the cut edges of the fabric. This REALLY controls the fraying. The bonus is a pinked edge is easier to spot in my stash, so I know if something has been washed or not!
8. Another tip was to serge or zig-zag the cut ends (not the selvage edges) together. ( I tried this too, worked great) That or basting the fabrics together.
So in preparation for ANOTHER class……I again pre-washed my fabrics last night, and it was a much less stressful ordeal.
