Thursday, July 29, 2010

Washing fabric

I prefer to wash fabrics when they come in my door.  I use a short cycle--about 5 minute wash-- and get it over with and done.  I know other quilters who never wash because they like the crisp finish on the fabric.  My number one reason to wash is dye bleeding....one accidental bleed years ago convinced me of that.  I also use a dye catcher cloth when I wash finished quilts to hopefully stop that event from happening again. 
So, today I am washing fabrics.  The first load was a piece of white--about 6 yards long--that I was given several years ago and stuck away.  I pulled it out to use as a backing and knew it needed to be washed first.  Then the mail arrived.........yeah, I know I don't need anymore fabric, but 30 yards for $35 was too much to resist.  I threw out the stash busting scoreboard and bid and won 2 lots on ebay.  Justification:  all florals, mostly Hoffman's  and in large cuts that could be used for backings.  And I am a sucker for florals.  Here's a look.
Without a doubt I have the yardage now to do a french braid in floral fabrics,  a split 9 patch in floral fabrics, and lots more watercolor/colorwash quilts.  Better finish the washing, so I can press and fold and hunt for a place to stash this haul.  Happy stitching.

2 comments:

Lisa said...

Hi Debbie! I'm with ya on this one. I always wash all fabrics before I do anything else with it. The chemicals they use always give a headache and sore throat.
I'm a floral fan also, have fun with your new haul :)

Carol said...

I prewash and iron also. Looks like you have some lovely florals there.

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