Should you prewash modern fabrics? The current consensus is no. ‘Not needed as modern fabrics are processed different and don’t either lose colour or shrink’. Hate to be a kill-joy but um…experience has taught me otherwise. My answer is yes prewash! Unless using fabric in a situation in which the quilt will be display only and never laundered.
While preparing samples for a class I decided to go all brave and not prewash my new fabrics. The class involves making squares that all come out the same size. Um. Well…not so much. These were expensive novelty prints with a trademarked highly recognizable cartoon style character on them. They were purchased in a quilt shop not some low end budget store.
When I began assembling nothing seemed amiss initially but as I sprayed them with water and ironed them with steam they changed slightly. Some seams not as flat as they should be after careful cutting and accurate seams.
Imaging my surprise at measuring the final blocks and finding them all slightly too small and variating in size. SO between this experience and a lovely modern blue that surrendered It’s dye to other fabrics…yep. I prewash and hot iron everything used in a washable quilt!
While preparing samples for a class I decided to go all brave and not prewash my new fabrics. The class involves making squares that all come out the same size. Um. Well…not so much. These were expensive novelty prints with a trademarked highly recognizable cartoon style character on them. They were purchased in a quilt shop not some low end budget store.
When I began assembling nothing seemed amiss initially but as I sprayed them with water and ironed them with steam they changed slightly. Some seams not as flat as they should be after careful cutting and accurate seams.
Imaging my surprise at measuring the final blocks and finding them all slightly too small and variating in size. SO between this experience and a lovely modern blue that surrendered It’s dye to other fabrics…yep. I prewash and hot iron everything used in a washable quilt!
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