When to prewash? - Page 2

[Christine&men]

Pre-wash, definitely. Even for quilting items. If I feel it might be a problem for the fabric to be flat for cutting, I use starch! Starch makes it really nice and easy to cut and it comes out when washing before wearing it for the first time for real.

[mamavegan]

Thanks for all the responses! I think I'm going to be in the prewash once on hot for all fabrics camp. I'm too lazy/impatient to do it much more than that and I definitely want to get the chemicals off before I create anything - even quilts.

[courtenay_e]

I often wash fabrics on hot with an oxygen cleaner and dawn, to strip any chemical nastiness out of the fabric before I put it on the skin of people I love. Of course, I don't think too hard about what might be in that Dawn... but it's got to be better than the processing chemicals, right? That said, I've had the same bottle of Dawn for four years, so I don't use that much of it. I rinse with vinegar to rinse out the Dawn.

[*Jessica*]

I pre-wash all fabrics on hot and then dry them on hot before folding them up nicely and putting them on the shelf....where they sit for ages until I actually get around to using them.

[mamavegan]

Originally Posted by *Jessica*

I pre-wash all fabrics on hot and then dry them on hot before folding them up nicely and putting them on the shelf....where they sit for ages until I actually get around to using them.

LOL! That brings me to another question, which probably doesn't deserve it's own thread, but..

When hoarding fabric, how much do you buy at a time? I see fabrics and buy according to what I plan to make for them, but what if I see something I love, but don't yet know how I'll use it?

[sewchris2642]

Originally Posted by mamavegan

LOL! That brings me to another question, which probably doesn't deserve it's own thread, but..

When hoarding fabric, how much do you buy at a time? I see fabrics and buy according to what I plan to make for them, but what if I see something I love, but don't yet know how I'll use it?

I usually buy 3 yards if I'm not totally sure of the exact garment I'm going to make out it. 3 yards is enough for a dress, blouse, or pants. Usually with enough left over for children's clothes. If it's for a costume (i.e. historical or ethnic clothing), I'll buy up to 10 yards if I can.