Is it really necessary to prewash quilting cottons? This has been an ongoing discussion amongst quilters for decades. Ask any group of quilters and it’s likely that you’ll receive a wide variety of answers! Generally speaking, it’s all about personal preference and risk tolerance, but there are still some unique situations where it’s good practice to wash that fabric first.
For a bit of background, the two main reasons people to prewash in the first place are to prevent shrinking and color bleeding. Quilting cottons typically shrink by 3-5%, but lower quality cottons can shrink much more. Usually you’ll get a slightly more crinkly quilt texture after washing your finished quilt for the first time if you didn’t choose to prewash. To some people (like me!) that cozy crinkle quilt aesthetic is what they’re after, but it’s not what everyone wants. Color bleeding is definitely a more serious risk and can ruin an entire quilt. It can be devastating! However, nowadays, a good high quality newly produced quilting cotton is typically (but not always) colorfast.
So whether you chose to prewash your new fabric or not, here are three unique situations where it’s best to prewash first.
1. Older and Unknown Secondhand Fabric
Please, please, please prewash those vintage and mystery secondhand fabrics! If anyone remembers anything from this post, I hope it’s this nugget right here! Most people probably assume you should wash older fabrics because of potential dirt (and once I even saw dead moth larvae in the fold of a quilters cotton- yuck!), but color bleeding is the biggest risk here. The reds and darks in particular can have horrendous bleeding. They should definitely get a good wash or two, and then maybe a test with a piece of scrap white cotton.
One time, I used a small piece of vintage quilters cotton for an appliqué on a wall hanging. It was a deep rusty red and very pretty. I did not prewash that fabric and I never washed the completed wall hanging either since it was only for decoration. Over time (about 15 years), the color from that one piece still bled into the background! My best guess is it happened because I live in a humid climate, it was a low quality fabric, and of course it wasn’t prewashed.
This doesn’t stop me from searching for great deals on old fabric, or feeling super grateful and blessed when someone gifts me part of their old fabric stash. Vintage, thrifted, and secondhand fabric is amazing. It can save so much money and many of those prints can’t be found anymore. They should just always be prewashed first.
2. When Mixing Fabric Types
Not all fabrics shrink the same. Polyester usually doesn’t shrink at all, but flannel can shrink around 10%! Linen can vary widely, at around 3-10%. If I were making a quilt with multiple fabrics types, I would consider prewashing (with some exceptions). Unfortunately this is one you may have to play by ear depending on what you’re using, but hopefully some of the following examples will help.
When the quilt top is all mixed fabric, I’d probably want to wash everything. If one individual piece shrinks much more than the rest, it could cause some strange warping in spots.
When the quilt top is all quilters cotton but the backing is flannel (flannel can shrink 10%!) I would definitely prewash the flannel. I likely wouldn’t bother prewashing anything if I were using minky as a backing, however.
The same also goes for binding. If the binding being used is a different material, I’d keep that in mind when trying to decide to prewash or not.
Research the types of fabric you’re including to make you’re best call.
3. When in Doubt
Okay, so this one sounds like it’s cheating but it’s actually huge. Would you be absolutely devastated if you spent hours working on a project and then it got ruined because the colors bled? If your gut is telling you to prewash, then you probably should. In the picture above, would you be too nervous to wash those whites with those reds? Some people would be and some people wouldn’t be.
Personally, I do not prewash most of my brand new quilters cottons. I usually only prewash fabrics in the circumstances listed above. That stack of red and white fabric sure makes me nervous though! Because of this hesitation, I would definitely take the time to prewash them. To me, it’s not worth the risk.
Bonus Tips
Thread: Thread obviously can’t be prewashed, but some low quality or vintage threads can still be prone to color bleeding. I’ve unfortunately seen that happen. The thread used for quilting that quilt bled over the entire thing, top and backing. If in doubt, it doesn’t hurt to stitch a small sample on some scrap white cotton, run it through the wash, and see what happens.
Tide Color Catchers: When washing a completed quilt for the first time, I always throw in a couple Tide color catchers too. I love these things! I use them whether I prewashed the fabric or not, just as a precaution. They aren’t perfect but definitely do help. It’s nice to send a couple along with a gifted quilt, too. They are pretty inexpensive and You can usually find them near the laundry detergent in grocery stores.
Precuts: Precut quilter cottons like layer cakes, jelly rolls, etc., should not be prewashed. They are pre cut to a specific standard size that’s commonly used by some patterns. If they shrink beforehand, they won’t work for that pattern anymore. Fat quarters are the smallest I would typically prewash, but just double check that pathetic shrinking won’t short you on the pattern.
Thank you so much for stopping by; I truly hope you found this topic helpful! Are there any other reasons why you choose to prewash (or not)? Please let me know in the comment section below!