To pre-wash your quilt fabric or not? That is the question regularly asked at the quilt shop I work at. So, I started asking that same question back to some of our customers and staff.

Some quilters would not even think about bringing an un-washed piece fabric into their house! (Lucky for them their washing machine is in the garage!) Many, I surveyed, will never pre-wash anything ever! A few wash only reds and dark fabrics. And not other colors. Others will wash only flannel fabrics—because they will shrink at a different rate than regular “flat” fabric, so they say.

So, my conclusion, that I have made from information gathered on my very informal survey, (with a error margin rate of “give or take” a some) is…The decision to pre-wash fabric or not is up to you! Maybe that is not what you wanted to hear but…

I do have some thoughts to share with you…

Debbie White, (that is her in the photo working in the Cozy Cottage booth at a quilt show) a quilt maker and a Thimbleberries Quilt Club instructor at Cozy Cottage Fabrics, says “ I like the way the fabric feels with the sizing in it, so I prefer not to pre-wash it. Years ago, I would wash everything, but not anymore. I think it is really a personal preference.”

I agree with her, I almost never pre-wash. I like cutting on “crispy” unwashed fabric. Plus, I am pretty lazy and do not want to iron it when it comes out of the dryer!

But, I also buy 95% of my fabric from a quilt shop…So, I feel pretty safe that I have a high quality fabric that will resist major shrinkage and bleeding of colors.

“I use a dye magnet, in my washing machine, the first time I wash one of my finished quilts—just in case.” says Debbie. “I really have had no problems with major shrinkage or bleeding with the fabric I buy at a quilt shop.”

Quilting fabric that you buy from a quilt shop is significantly better quality than the fabric you can buy at a discount or regular fabric store. (And I am not just saying that because I work at a quilt shop!) But, you pay for that difference – as much as twice the price per yard for fabric from an independent quilt shop than fabric from a chain or discount store. But, really it is like comparing apples to oranges. And it is worth paying more for quality fabric.

Dye methods and dye qualities are different…. thread counts and the quality of “gray goods” are different. (Gray goods is what is fabric called before it gets a design printed on it.) Think of it like bed sheets with different thread counts. You can feel the difference and you can see the difference in sheets and in quilting fabric.

I think you are pretty safe going with the “I prefer not to pre-wash” theory when you buy your fabrics at a quilt shop.

Another school of thought that came from my informal survey is…whatever you decide…be consistent and pre-wash or not pre-wash all of the fabric in your stash! So that when you are ready to start a project you do not have to wonder if your fabric has been washed or not and you will not be mixing washed and unwashed fabric in your quilt.


Anyway, tell me your thoughts on pre-washing fabric? What works for you? Have you ever gotten a “bad batch” of fabric—and wished you had pre-washed?