Do these have to washed or have they been prewashed? I don't see anything on the package.
lynnb: Do these have to washed or have they been prewashed? I don't see anything on the package.
They are generally not pre-washed. But you probably don't want to prewash them, just to avoid fraying. Some will tell you to wash the quilt in cold water with the color catcher sheets, but I've never used them. I just wash mine in cold with a couple regular bath towels and have never had a problem.
Chicagoland, Illinois
Lynn, I think the 2-1/2" strips would fray if you wash them.
In the beautiful Pacific Northwest!
Richard, I'm sorry, but you are WRONG. I bought 6 fabrics at a quality quilt store this month. Three of those fabric bled terribly. One of them I could not get to stop bleeding. And they shrink, I have never had a cotton NOT shrink. And they have pesticides and fungicides and I don't know what all in the fabric to deter critters.
gini in north idaho
Richard
You are full of mud. Fabrics today still shrink and bleed. I personally don't prewash but this is a decision that each person has to make for themselves. Strips aren't the easiest to prewash but it can be done. If I was pre washing I would soak them in hot water and then rinse with cold. Squeeze the water out and lay them to dry. I CAN NOT stand for someone to tell people they CAN NOT do something. That was a really bad chose of words for you to use.
Vinton, Virginia
I don't prewash by choice. There are no steadfast rules in this area. You could put strips in a bowl and gently swish them around with your hand.
Fabrics still bleed (and you're never sure which ones will) which is why Colour Catches are still available.
gini: Richard, I'm sorry, but you are WRONG. I bought 6 fabrics at a quality quilt store this month. Three of those fabric bled terribly. One of them I could not get to stop bleeding. And they shrink, I have never had a cotton NOT shrink. And they have pesticides and fungicides and I don't know what all in the fabric to deter critters.
I agree Gini and Nana.
Hand washing 2 1/2" strips and laying out to dry is the best way to end up with a 2 1/2" strip. Maybe.
A bed without a quilt is like a sky without stars.
Patty Mc
Oregon & Arizona
I just went back to see how much some fabric I bought from Maywood studios shrunk. I bought it a few years ago, but from a good quilt store, and it looks and feels like good quality cotton. I bought some, washed it, and then started to worry that I had not bought enough. I did not wash that piece. From selvage to selvage it shrunk 2 1/2 inches!
I recently bought some stonehenge fabric. From selvage to selvage it shrunk 1/12 inches! This is a Northcott fabric.
So, yes they do still shrink.
I have not had problems with colors bleeding, except for some hand died fabric that had a warning, but I was able to 'fix' that.
Patti
Chiliwist Valley