Did you ever notice

That ain't no controversy - thassa religeous war tharriz! ;D

yeah wot she said... non washers are heretics!

OH NO!!! that makes me one too! I was stash fabric but don't wash commission stuff as per instructions.

I used to wash everything as soon as I brought it home. Now, I don't wash before I make the quilt, but always wash it once it's all done. I was loosing too much fabric to the ravel and then spending too much time with the iron. I like the way I do it now. Mom never prewashed and even her white and red quilt didn't/doesn't bleed when it's washed.

Tigg

I wash anything that might ever be washed, and I wash it hard. I want it to get all the bad behavior it is going to be subject to out of it before it turns into something spiffy.

I too hate the ravelies. So far the best defense against them that I have found is either serging the ends or going mad with fray check. None of the snipping, pinking, or clever knotting, that anyone has ever suggested to me has worked worth a darn.

Now there is a subject for conversation, Dritz Fray Check, June Tailor Fray Block, or something else entirely? What works best for you?

On ocassion when I have been out of the made for sewing stuff I have used PVA glue, which mostly works as well.

NightMist

Well, seems like there are things that work for everyone. It wasn't just the fraying that made me stop pre-washing, it was the huge wrinkled mess that would need hours of standing (ok, so I don't stand to iron, but you know what I mean) at the ironing board and I still couldn't get the wrinkles out. Now, the biggest reason for not pre-washing is that it costs me $1.50 per load (to wash and dry total) to do any washing, so I save that for my clothes.

As to color catchers, Mom never used one on her white and red quilt and the reds never bled/bleed onto the white...never, ever! It's one of the prettiest quilts too! The reds form a heart and she used small scrappy squares. It's just gorgeous! Maybe I can get Daddy to take a digital picture so I could show y'all.

The only quilt I ever made that I know had a color-fast problem was the first one I ever made. The top was all different colors, none of them so light that there was a problem, but if a sock wound up in the wash with it, it came out pink. I bought the backing fabric at a quilt store that was going out of business and now I wonder if it was because they sold inferior quality fabric. When I left Oregon, that quilt was still bleeding onto socks when it got washed (made it for the ex when he wouldn't give me my quilt that Mom made back...unfortunately, when I got mine back it was so worn out it is in tatters. :( ).

Tigg

My problems all began with LQS saying to prewash, then "some" classes saying to prewash....then, all those BOMs from LQSs which are precut or partly cut from unwashed fabric --which should be completed with unwashed sashing, border, etc. IMO. (contradiction, huh??) My decision

---no more LQS BOMs except just to learn the pattern, but am not making quilt from them, they just lost money, lol!

My stash btw is so disorganized because of those BOMs. I've had it -- after this last one that I'm trying to finish up, I'm throwing everything in washer because some of those fabrics I do need in other projects, but can't use because not prewashed yet. I bought a lot of fabric and washed it.

~~Ann in central Tx~~

I keep my BOM's in their own small totes or those zippy bags that comforters or sheets come in. Since I don't pre-wash anything anymore, it's not a problem, but then again, I'm not buying anything either. I've got enough with what is in the closet to keep me busy for at least a couple of years even if I work steadily on something quilty. Unfortunately, I have too many other hobbies to do that. There's always something I want to be doing, just have to make myself do it lately, which is not the mood to be in when it comes to crafts, because that makes them work and then I don't want to do anything.

Tigg

I'm a pre-washer, because I want to make sure it won't shrink or color-run later; this dates back to my garment sewing days and having something shrink after sewing and then not fit well. Sometimes the grain goes whacky when fabric is wrapped on a bolt, so washing will sometimes affect the grain. Then, too, you never know how many people have handled the fabric and where/how it was stored between the factory and the store.

The one and only time I did a store's BOM, I washed the pieces for each block by hand with a bit of liquid dish soap, wrapped them in a bath towel to take out excess moisture, and threw them in the dryer along with the now-damp towel. There was little or no raveling (I suspect that is mostly from the washer action). It worked for me.

Julia in MN