there is a story behind this fat quarter bundle...
Awesome!
Awesome!but that is for another post ... this post is about prewashing ... i've heard and read lottsa advice about whether or not to prewash ... some people say that when you buy quality fabric prewashing is unnecessary and/or a waste of time ... other people say that all fabric should always be prewashed ... Auntia and i have a lotta allergies and brand new fabric fresh off the bolt makes our sinuses go crazy and irritates our skin ... with very few exceptions (charm packs and jelly rolls - cuz they disintegrate) i prewash my fabric before i put it in a quilt - and i'm not very nice about it ... i use hot water and Synthrapol for batiks - and if they're gonna be in the same quilt, they all get it at the same time since i'm all about learning to play nicely together ... fabric (including Synthrapoled batiks) gets the same treatment before i cut into it that it is likely to receive after it has grown up and become a quilt or an apron or a hooter hider or a whatever... all of it is thrown in the washer's normal cycle on warm/cold with laundry detergent and fabric softener if i remember ... after the washer has done its best to pulverize the fibers into submission it all gets hung on drying racks cuz we live in the high desert and the air can always use a little moisture - right?!? till it's almost dry ... it gets fluffed in the dryer and then it gets pressed ... for the past year or so i've been throwing a Dye Grabber in the washer ... a brand new Dye Grabber looks like a very white washcloth ... it sloshes around with the rest of the laundry and collects migrating dye...
Dye Grabber - my new best friend
we don't always buy quilt shop quality fabric ... but this fat quarter bundle is quality fabric - look at the dye that migrated out of the bundle and into the Dye Grabber ... sheesh!
Dye Grabber - my new best friendwe don't always buy quilt shop quality fabric ... but this fat quarter bundle is quality fabric - look at the dye that migrated out of the bundle and into the Dye Grabber ... sheesh!
It's a very pretty fabric bundle....thank you for reminding me, I have some fabric to prewash and musn't forget to put a colour catcher (same thing with a different name here) in with it.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! I always pre-wash and sometimes the fabrics STILL run. Prewashing those fat quarter bundles is a big pain in the patootie, but I still do it. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteUGH.....so far my rule has been to only prewash fabric cut from the bolt, and only reds and blacks, and any fabric that I use in conjunction with the reds and blacks....now you're telling me I need to be washing fat quarters.....I'm not liking what you're selling here today!! When I wash fat quarters, they turn into a stringy giant wad...and they are just never the same again....maybe I need to do the line drying, like you. But it's not dry here, it's humid here, our air does not need any more moisture.
ReplyDeleteSadly the dye grabber does not lie......So what are you making with that fat quarter bundle, I LOVE Sandy Gervais..it looks like Sandy Gervais, is it? I'm very curious to read more....
Yeah, I always wash fabric first, even though, as Thimbleanna says, it's a pain! Especially batiks, which always seem to run like rabbits, no matter where they come from or how much you shell out for them.....That bundle looks like a Fall/Halloween project about to happen!
ReplyDeleteI read a hint recently to soak charm squares and jelly rolls in warm water with a dye grabber. Swish and rinse in running water. Spin them in a salad spinner and dry on a sweater dryer frame.
ReplyDeleteNo fraying they say!
I ALways wash fabric because of my allergies. When you iron unwashed fabrics the chemicals used in production go right in your airspace and thru out the studio, Batiks need several hot water washes, just like hand dyes
ReplyDeletehave you seen how they are made?
LeeAnna