To prewash or not to prewash,
That is The Question...

It's no secret: prewashing fabric sucks. Most quilters really hate it. The last thing in the world we want to do with a brand new bag of fabrics is to throw them in the washing machine and then spend hours ironing the wrinkles out.

So the question is: is prewashing your fabrics really necessary?

And the answer is entirely up to you! I'm not going to tell you you MUST prewash your fabrics, you HAVE to wash out that sizing and check for bleeding colors.

Instead I'll just give you my take on the issue:

When I started quilting in 2005, I hated prewashing fabric even more than I do now because I didn't have a washing machine at the time. My husband and I were living in an apartment, so in order to prewash my fabric I had to make a special trip to the Laundromat.

Needless to say, I never prewashed anything.

So along comes my very first quilt, which I designed with white, blue, navy, and black fabrics.

Unfortunately, the large white borders that I was so very proud of lasted all of 1 washing before they were forever stained an ugly pale blue.

But I still didn't really learn my lesson.

In fact, it took ruining several quilts with bleeding fabric dyes to FINALLY come to the conclusion that prewashing fabric really is a necessary step in the quilting process.

When you don't prewash your fabric, you can never wash your quilt or get it wet in any way. While this may not seem like a big deal in the beginning of your quilt project, it will quickly become a problem after your quilt is done.

Even quilts that are created to only hang on a wall will still occasionally need to be washed to remove dirt and dust. Quilts created for show will not always return in the same shape they left your home in.

Also, blocking your quilt is very important for finishing your quilt with straight, square sides. In order to block a quilt, you must soak it in water first.

Just take a look at this fabric:

Reds, blue, black, and purple are the worse colors for bleeding dye into other fabrics. 3 yards of fabric are being soaked in a bathtub full of water and look how much dye has leeched into the water!

Now imagine all that dye bleeding into your white sashing or border...

It's not a pretty picture!

If you HATE prewashing, it's probably because ironing the fabric after it's been washed takes so long and is such an annoying chore.

But it doesn't have to be! Check out some quick tips for prewashing fabric that are sure to lessen the time you spend ironing your fabric back into shape.

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