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Pre-washing Fabric Woes
By Serena Nabeta | April 1, 2009
There are many benefits to pre-washing your fabrics before using them, but I have several reasons why I don’t like to pre-wash my quilt cotton fabrics if I can get away with it. As sometime pre-washing is necessary, I have come up with some solutions that are helpful in the following disadvantages of pre-washing.
(1) Once a cotton fabric has been pre-washed, it loses the sizing in it – that crisp shape and body. Fabric that has not been washed is easier to cut and stitch because it still has some crispness to it. The solution I have found to this is starch. Starch gives it additional body and stiffness to make cutting and stitching even easier than non-washed fabric. I use both spray starch and liquid starch; you can see here for some tips on using starch.
(2) I hate dealing with those raveling edges and twisted yardages. This is not such a problem with smaller pieces of fabrics, but numerous yards of once piece tend to ravel and twist on itself which can be a real headache to untwist and press out the set-in wrinkles from the dryer. To help with the fraying edges, I either cut a triangle from the corners of the fabric or I serge the edges. Serging the edges is a sure-cut way to prevent raveling. As for the fabric twisting on itself, if I can I try to cut a large piece of fabric in to smaller sections. If I am unable to do that, I will take the fabric out several times as it is drying and fan it out in the air so it is flat and wrinkle free and then continue drying. Or another solution is to hang it flat outside to dry to prevent the rumbling around in the dryer.
(3) Let’s face it, when I’m picking out fabric from a quilt shop or my stash, I want to get started right NOW, not wait until it’s been washed and dried. The solution to this: plan ahead. Simple. Easy. Sure…easier said than done! But- I can speed the process along by rinsing in a sink of warm water if it is a yard of fabric or less. By pre-washing fabrics as you purchase them and then putting them in your stash of fabric, they are ready to use the moment your fingers touch them.
Even though there are disadvantages to pre-washing fabrics, they are outnumbered by the advantages of pre-washed fabrics. So even if it takes a bit more time and effort to serge the edges, wash and dry the fabric and starch each piece, it is well worth it in the end!
Topics: Embroidery, Fabric Stash, Fabric Tips, Helpful Lessons, Pressing/Ironing | 1 Comment »
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:55 am
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