Fabrics, Notions, & More Blog

Although some quilters never pre-wash their fabrics, I nearly always do, because I don't want any surprises when I wash a finished quilt for the first time.

 

Some Fabrics Bleed

Some cotton fabrics bleed, particularly reds, purples and other vivid colors. Bleeding dyes can stain sections of other fabrics during prewashing, but they're an even bigger problem when they transfer dyes onto patches in a finished quilt.

Make sure your fabrics are stable by performing a bleed test before you use them in a quilt or wash them with other fabrics.

Keep a laundry additive called Synthropol on hand. Just a capful added to each load of fabric keeps loose dyes from depositing on other fabrics during the wash. Synthropol won't prevent fabrics that touch each other--like patches in a quilt--from absorbing dyes that bleed and transfer from an adjacent patch.

 

Cotton Fabrics Shrink

When cotton fabric is manufactured, threads are stretched on a loom, pulling fibers into an unnaturally straight position. Coatings are added to help stabilize the threads and keep them taut. Part of what we see as shrinkage is actually the relaxation of the cotton fibers as they try to return to their natural state.

When fabrics are washed, the agitation of the washing machine and the wicking action that draws moisture into the fibers allow the coated threads to relax and return to a position more like that in which they grew. Putting the fabrics in the dryer gives fibers another opportunity to relax. How much? It depends on the fabric.

 

Cottons Shrink Differently

What if your quilt block contains several different unwashed fabrics--and some of them shrink more than others? Uneven shrinkage could cause puckers and distortions the first time the quilt is washed.

Quilters sometimes intentionally use unwashed fabrics to assemble a quilt because the puckers left over after the first wash give the quilt a vintage appearance. If vintage isn't the look you're going for it's best to pre-wash your fabrics.

 

Prewashing Removes Chemicals

Quilting fabrics arrive from the manufacturer coated with sizing, protectants and other chemicals that give them a crisp feel and make them easy to rotary cut. If you are sensitive to chemicals, handling coated fabrics or breathing small particles that might flake off of them could be a health risk.

Prewashing removes most of the loose chemicals from fabric. If you prefer to work with stiffer fabric, use spray starch or sizing to reintroduce body. Yes, that adds a chemical, but it's one you have control of. Read the ingredients list on the can to find out exactly what's in it.

 

How to Prewash Your Quilting Fabrics

Wash your quilting cottons in cool water with a mild detergent or Orvus soap, which is available online and from most quilt shops. Keep wrinkles to a minimum by drying fabrics with low heat and removing them from the dryer as soon as they are dry.

Some quilters like to press fabrics right away. I prefer to press them when I'm ready to use them. After removing fabrics from the dryer I use clothespins to suspend segments from hangers until I'm sure they are completely dry, then I fold the fabrics and stash them away until I'm ready to make a quilt.

You'll develop your own preferences for prewashing as you work with fabrics and construct your quilts. Ask other quilters for their opinions on fabric care, listen to what they say, then experiment to determine which techniques work best for you.

To tell you the truth, I had not really thought much about the question prior to last week. Long ago, I took a quilting class, and the teacher told us to arrive at class with our fabric already washed and ready to cut.

When we arrived for the class, she explained that quilters always pre-wash their fabric - for many reasons:

1) To remove all of the sizing (chemicals) the manufacturers add to the fabric to make look more attractive, prevent wrinkles, and make it come off the bolt easier in the store. Although it makes the fabric easier for them to handle, sizing makes the fabric a little stiffer and more difficult for quilters to handle; plus it may leave a residue on your needles and thread as you are sewing.

2) Fabric with a high cotton content will shrink - even if it says it is pre-shrunk. (We all know about the pre-shrunk jeans that don't fit any more after one washing! Eeek!) Since not all cottons are born 'equal,' they don't shrink 'equal' either. That means that some cotton fabric will shrink 1%, other cotton fabric will shrink 3% or possibly more. The result is that once your quilt is washed, the fabrics will exert their own shrinking personality, and you will have a quilt that has puckers - and some patches will pucker more than others.

3) The color bleeds out of some fabric; and may deposit itself into other fabric. Reds, blues, yellows and purples are famous for sharing their beauty with whites, muslins, and tans. Translation - the beautiful, bright white in your quilt may end up with a pink, blue, yellow or lavender haze, if the excess color is not removed from the colored fabric.

I wasn't surprised when the beginning quilter asked the question in an on-line quilt discussion group about whether to pre-wash the fabric, and I wasn't surprised to see that several quilters answered with all of the above reasons. I was surprised, however, at the quilter who responded that she never pre-washed her fabrics because she liked the puckered look.

I understand completely liking the puckered look; I love it! It makes a quilt look well-loved and handmade. And I am always happy when my quilts develop that look, whether it is the first time they are washed or after several years. I would do almost anything to make sure that my quilts (although maybe not my wallhangings) could have that look of love. I just wish I could figure out a way to get the sizing and excess color out of the fabric without washing it before I sew.

Happy Quilting! Penny Halgren Penny Halgren is a quilter of more than 24 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts. This article courtesy of www.How-to-Quilt.com. You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.