I wash everything and always put a color catcher in the load.

I'm glad you decided to check your fabric before sewing!

Donna

I'm in the "wash everything you can" category. I wash new fabric in hot water and dry in a hot dryer until damp (if I catch it) and then iron. I don't want my quilts to pucker up as much as some quilters do. In fact, I've even started washing the batting in some quilts that I would prefer to pucker less.

I'm also afraid of bleeding especially because I use a lot of white and off-white backgrounds. My Baby Honu quilt has some bleeding of a dark blue/green batik - even though I washed all the fabrics.

So there are my reasons for pre washing fabric - less change to bleed and less shrinkage of the quilt.

I wash, too.

SharonG/FL

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I usually take new fabric straight to the washer, that is usually. So far, i have been lucky with no bleeding. But i have had a couple of pieces which had been wAshed several times bleed. So who is to know when it is good to go.
Theresa

I know there are a lot who never or seldom do. I ALWAYS do. And if I have doubts like if it's red or orange or just plain suspicious, I wash it separately with a color catcher. I also do it because I don't want to wind up with some fabric shrinking like crazy after I've done all that work and made a quilt. I don't need those kind of surprises. I've just taught myself NOT to bypass the washer before it gets into my stash.

I test all reds and anything dark and inky that is saturated with color front and back in cold water in a white kitchen sink. If it does not bleed then I know it's ok to wash in cold water with detergent in the washing machine, but just as a good rule of thumb I put 8 inch x 4 inch piece of white on white fabric in the wash with all new fabrics, just as a 2nd way to double check it. I find that with reds and navy fabrics that if you flip the fabric to the wrong side (back side) and look at it if it has a lot of white showing then it probably will not bleed, but if it is inky and saturated with color to the extent that a blue fabric pen mark would not show up on it, then it's probably gonna' bleed. I also look at the white selvage edge of new fabrics to see if the red has bled on to it during the manufacturing process. If the white or cream selvage edge of the fabric when you look at it in the store if it's got red dye already bled on to it then that suckers probably gonna bleed big time when you put it in cold water. If fabrics bleed during my kitchen sink cold water test then I soak them in a plastic tub with 3 cups white vinegar and 8 cups cold water and let it sit for 24 hours and that should bleed out the excess color in the fabric. Afterwards the next day I pour the white vinegar and water saturated with dye down the kitchen sink and wring out that fabric in the kitchen sink, then I wash it in cold water and detergent and that large piece of white on white fabric. If that white on white fabric is pink when the washer stops then I rewash it until my W.O.W. fabric is white again. If after 2 full wash cycles in the washing machine if fabric is still bleeding then I get rid of it and don't use it in my quilts, and then I wash the W.O.W fabric in cold water and Clorox color safe bleach to get my white on white fabric white again for future uses. Hope that is helpful.

Best to you,
Sandra

I wash everything and I found that even after washing, some reds and oranges and pink will bleed a little more later, too. Found that out when I was making a miniature quilt with lots of white, glad I tested my pre-washed fabrics again!

The skin on my fingers reacts badly to whatever is in/on new fabric, that's the main reason I pre-wash everything.

The dyes and chemicals really bother my hands, so I wash everything with the exception of jelly rolls or layer cakes. I don't mix washed and unwashed fabrics, but if I have a jelly roll and/or layer cake to be used together, I probably won't wash them until after it is completed, then in cold water with at least 2 color catchers.

beverly

I admit I don't always - I've been using a lot of jelly rolls and layer cakes this year - and I know I'm lucky I haven't had problems with anything I've used. But I always wash a finished quilt and use color catchers.

Good Morning, ladies.....Long time no post for me...but I've been reading and enjoying lots of your posts. This one prompted me to ask a question. What are colour catchers and where can they be purchased? Also, would something like this be useful after the colour has already bled? I have a Christmas runner where the red bled a bit onto the tot while when I was trying to spot out a stain with water. I have since washed it in cold water and have not had any other problem, but the original little area still shows the bleed. Is it too late to do anything about this?
Thanks

There are several on the market and you can get them at your local grocery store, Linda. Shout makes one. I don't know if it would work with something that's already transferred a stain but it might be worth a try.

Thanks, Kate. I'll check my grocery store next time I'm shopping.

I'm very new to quilting and don't know too much about it, but I have hunted all the stores in my area for colour catchers to no avail. However, I did find a similar product at "Sew Sisters" in Ontario where I have purchased some fabric. BREZZY does the same job (I assume) as colour catchers. They are far more expensive than what one would pay in the US, but worth to have on hand for when you really need them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sew Sisters