Two bees or not two bees…is not the
question.
Pre-wash or not pre-wash, now THAT is the question.
Although some quilters never pre-wash their fabric, I almost always do.
Pre-wash or not pre-wash, now THAT is the question.
Although some quilters never pre-wash their fabric, I almost always do.
Color Fastness
Some fabrics bleed, especially reds, purples, blacks and
some other dark or vivid colors. If you
haven’t pre-washed your fabrics bleeding dye can stain and transfer into
lighter fabrics in your quilt. I throw
a Shout Color Catcher into the washer to capture the excess dye in the wash
water. That will prevent bleeding dyes
staining fabrics during pre-washing.
Some quilters prefer working with unwashed fabrics because
of the crispness and find that the sizing and coatings on the fabric makes it easier
to rotary cut. If you are going to use
unwashed fabrics make sure to perform a test on a small sample to make sure
they are color fast. All you have to
do is take a small sample of the fabric and wash it with a few drops of
detergent. Then place the wet sample on
a paper towel or piece of white fabric and leave it to air dry on the paper
towel or fabric. If the color has bled
onto the towel or fabric, you’ll need to pre-wash.
If you really like the crispness of unwashed fabric you can
always us spray starch when pressing.
Shrinkage
Some quilters intentionally use unwashed fabrics to assemble
the quilt because they like the puckering that takes place after washing the
quilt. This will give a quilt a vintage
or puckery effect. If this is not the
look you are going for and prefer a smoother quilt, pre-wash your fabrics.
Some quilts, particularly scrappy quilts will contain
different fabrics from various manufacturers and the each fabric will shrink at
a different rate which could cause puckers or distortions. It’s another reason I prefer to prewash …. I
love scrappy quilts.
Make sure if you are doing a swap or trade with a quilt bee
or group, that you specify whether to pre-wash or not.
Personally, I’m a big fan of the color red; it’s actually my
favorite color. So naturally, I’ve had
some experience with dyes bleeding and running. It’s heart breaking to spend hundreds or
dollars on fabric and quilting not to mention the amount of time and then
discover that the colors have run.
Hapbee Roberta
