Thursday, January 10, 2013

Should I pre-wash my Fabric????


This morning at 3am I woke with a sense of panic...I didn't think anyone was breaking in the house, my kid's were fine, my husband was sound asleep too...I was panicked because I thought I could possibly slowly be  poisoning my family or increasing our risk of cancer with my HUGE fabric stash because I am not washing the fabrics when I bring them home from the store!  I know, this may sound absolutely crazy, but I was so worried.



You see I do have a lot of fabric and I do realize the fabric is treated with lots of chemicals in the construction process and I do not wash my quilting fabrics when I bring them home for several reasons:

1.  I love the way it feels when it hasn't been washed.
2.  I'm anxious to use it and don't want to take the time to wash.
3.  I hate the way washing the fabric makes the raw edges all frizzled.
4.  The fabric always gets so balled up in the washing machine and dryer.

But...I'm really starting to think that for the health of my family I should wash my fabric when I bring it home and commit to washing a little bit of my stash each week.  Which should result in less quilting fabric chemicals floating thru the air in my house.

I would love to have your thoughts on this matter.  Please tell me if you wash/not wash, or if you have any great tips.

Happy Washing!  janae'

5 comments:

  1. I always wash my fabric as soon as I bring it home. :)
    There is always shrinkage with any fabric, and I don't want to have things puckering after it's sewn together. I never thought of the chemical aspect! I do hate the balled up edges after washing too, but it really is better to wash. My two cents! ;)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Denise, Thanks for your input. I hear you about the shrinkage part. It's funny though because in the quilting world we tell people they really don't have to pre-wash anymore...I think this has come about because quilting fabrics are made so much better these days that the shrinkage is very minimal, but I know for home dec fabrics that doesn't always apply...especially for linens that seam to shrink about 1 1/2" per yard...eek!

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  3. hmm I don't think you have to worry most quilters no longer wash their fabrics.
    I don't anymore and this never crossed my mind.
    will be interested in hearing what others think
    Kathie

    ReplyDelete

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