Prewash Fabric??

[Quaniliaz]

What do you do to your fabric before you sew??

If I'm sewing diapers or slings, I wash in cold, then hot, then dry on hot... Is this overkill?? I know with hemp it's necessary to wash on hot several times to get the oil out...but what about with cotton? Does washing on cold 1st reduce the amount the fabric will shrink, or bleed??

Thoughts??

[Ok]

For me it depends on what I'm making. Diapers that I'll want to be washing on hot: yes, I washed on hot and dried on hot so that I could get it to shrink to a "normal" size (and presumably won't have future shrinking).

For something that might rarely be washed (a wall hanging quilt), I probably would not wash at all b/c if I needed to wash it at some point, I'd just handwash in cold.

So basically my short answer is I'd wash to shrink/bleed if its something that will be getting significant washes later and I wouldn't worry about it for projects where thats a moot point.

[mom2kbeth]

If it's something that bleeds, I wash it in warm and rinse in cold until there's no more running. Then dry on hot. If it's not something that bleeds, I usually just wash once in warm, rinse in cold and dry on hot. Haven't had any problems so far!

[rubelin]

I wash and dry just about all my fabrics on hot first, mostly to get out shrinkage but also to remove sizing and other finishes that I don't want all over my hands and body while I sew. Hemps and organic cottons that I want to use for dipes/whipes/ training pants I'll wash a few times to get out all the natural oils that hinder absorbency.

[lovingit]

i usually wash and dry with hot once...for hemp i do it 2-3 times, depending if i think it needs that third time...

i quilt quite a bit and i too wash and dry all my materials in hot. i figure, if the fabric looks yucky after one cycle in hot, then i don't want it in my quilt

HTH!

[Quaniliaz]

Originally posted by lovingit
[B if the fabric looks yucky after one cycle in hot, then i don't want it in my quilt [/B]

That sounds like a good philosophy.

Thanks for all of your advice. Sounds like my initial wash in cold is uneccessary....

[CarrieMF]

I wash and dry on hot for shrinkage. I would hate to sell something to someone and have them wash it and it shrink.