Prewash charm squares? noob quilter

[lorelei]

I know you're supposed to prewash, dry and iron your fabrics prior to making a quilt. How do you do this if you're using precut pieces? Can you alternately sew your quilt top together and then wash?

I've only ever made crib quilts for my daughters out of cheapy cotton, so it hasn't been a big deal. But I just found some good deals on Moda charm packs (5" square) and don't want to screw them up because they're so pretty!

TIA!

[luv-my-boys]

I have done both, prewashed and not. If the colors you are using wont run into each other (say a dark red and light yellow from different swatches) then you should be ok. I always throw in one of those *dye grabber* sheets JIK. I prefer the not prewash method because I like mine to be slightly puckered in appearance. If you think they might bleed one way of doing it would be to wash in HOT water seperately until dye stops bleeding from the fabrics, I heard a tiny drop of vinegar might help (I have not tried this)