Detergent when pre-washing?

If you pre-wash your fabric before using, do you add detergent? I always
pre-wash mine because I don't want to find out later that the colors runs,
and because if it's for a garment I don't want it to shrink! But is there
any reason those things can't be achieved by simply letting it soak in warm
water for a few minutes, without detergent, and then letting it drip dry or
tossing it in the dryer?

Dogmom

I tend to use a little bit of the Orvis soap when I prewash. But thats just
me......

--
Alice in NJ
RCTQ - "Royal Cybrarian"
www.ourcyberfamily.us
"The older the violin, the sweeter the music."




"dogmom" wrote in message
...
If you pre-wash your fabric before using, do you add detergent? I always
pre-wash mine because I don't want to find out later that the colors runs,
and because if it's for a garment I don't want it to shrink! But is there
any reason those things can't be achieved by simply letting it soak in
warm
water for a few minutes, without detergent, and then letting it drip dry
or
tossing it in the dryer?

Dogmom

"dogmom" wrote in message
...
If you pre-wash your fabric before using, do you add detergent? I always
pre-wash mine because I don't want to find out later that the colors runs,
and because if it's for a garment I don't want it to shrink! But is there
any reason those things can't be achieved by simply letting it soak in
warm
water for a few minutes, without detergent, and then letting it drip dry
or
tossing it in the dryer?

At the very least, I'd treat it the same way the finished quilt will be
treated. If you use detergent when washing a quilt, use it for the fabric,
too.

Because I hand dye, I have plenty of Synthrapol around, as well as a dye
fixative, so my routine for prewashing is hot water with Synthrapol in the
wash, cool water with dye fixative in the rinse, dry in the dryer. Is this
overkill? Possibly. But I had a very bad experience with a fabric bleeding
in a quilt; I'd rather go overboard than to have that happen again.

Basically, find what works for you, and stick to it!

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
longarm machine quilting, Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply

I just prewash in my reg clothes detergent.

--
Kathy in CA
Quilting Stuff:
http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/kathys1068

"dogmom" wrote in message
...
If you pre-wash your fabric before using, do you add detergent? I always
pre-wash mine because I don't want to find out later that the colors runs,
and because if it's for a garment I don't want it to shrink! But is there
any reason those things can't be achieved by simply letting it soak in
warm
water for a few minutes, without detergent, and then letting it drip dry
or
tossing it in the dryer?

Dogmom

I'm getting a good trial right now - I got a lovely thunky in the mail, full
of all sorts of bits that just need a bit of a swish 'round.

--
Wendy
http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm
De-Fang email address to reply
"Polly Esther" wrote in message
...
Oh Wendy, how I remember those days. Polly

frood wrote (snipped) If I have some charm squares that need to be washed,
I'll do those in the
sink with a little liquid soap, rinse well, wring and iron dry. Or,
leave
them in the sink, find them crumpled up under the stepstool, rewash
them,
leave them in the sink to drain, come back, find them wrapped around the
singing mermaid, re-rinse, hang to dry out of reach in the shower stall.

--
Wendy

I've heard that if you prewash without detergent, you get the shrinkage but
the sizing remains in the fabric. I plan on trying that next time.

Cheri
On Vancouver Island Canada

"dogmom" wrote in message
...
If you pre-wash your fabric before using, do you add detergent? I always
pre-wash mine because I don't want to find out later that the colors runs,
and because if it's for a garment I don't want it to shrink! But is there
any reason those things can't be achieved by simply letting it soak in
warm
water for a few minutes, without detergent, and then letting it drip dry
or
tossing it in the dryer?

Dogmom

Well Miss D, I wash the fabric for several reasons, so I always
use detergents. I like to CLEAN the cloth as well as shrink it.
Like Ragmop, I think the fabric is subject to soil and bugs and
who knows what ... so I wash it. Generally I just use half
rations of laundry detergent for novelty fabric that is destined
for kiddy quilts or place mats, or such, because I figure that is
how the finished items will be cleaned. That's what I used when I
washed some Halloween Border fabric last week. If the fabric is
special batik or has shine or metallic highlights then I use my
horse soap. HTH.
PAT in VA/USA

dogmom wrote:

If you pre-wash your fabric before using, do you add detergent? I always
pre-wash mine because I don't want to find out later that the colors runs,
and because if it's for a garment I don't want it to shrink! But is there
any reason those things can't be achieved by simply letting it soak in warm
water for a few minutes, without detergent, and then letting it drip dry or
tossing it in the dryer?

Dogmom

Kate Dicey wrote:
dogmom wrote:

If you pre-wash your fabric before using, do you add detergent? I always
pre-wash mine because I don't want to find out later that the colors runs,
and because if it's for a garment I don't want it to shrink! But is there
any reason those things can't be achieved by simply letting it soak in warm
water for a few minutes, without detergent, and then letting it drip dry or
tossing it in the dryer?

Dogmom

Yes - but only a little. I like to know how it will behave with washing
powder, as this is what's most likely to fade a fabric.

The pieces in the first quilt weren't pre-washed so I'll need to find some
sort of dye magnet for when I get around to washing it. I've prewashed
the pieces for the next one in warm water and a bit of eucalyptus wool
wash, rinsed in plain cold water by hand not how I intend to wash the quilt
but close enough.

--
Melinda
http://cust.idl.com.au/athol

Most of the time, mine just goes in with the regular wash.......... the finished
project will so why not? If it is a finished "donation" quilt (for some reason I
don't like to use the word "charity" then I wash separately with no fabric
softener and little detergent.

Pati, in Phx


Kate Dicey wrote:

dogmom wrote:

If you pre-wash your fabric before using, do you add detergent? I always
pre-wash mine because I don't want to find out later that the colors runs,
and because if it's for a garment I don't want it to shrink! But is there
any reason those things can't be achieved by simply letting it soak in warm
water for a few minutes, without detergent, and then letting it drip dry or
tossing it in the dryer?

Dogmom

Yes - but only a little. I like to know how it will behave with washing
powder, as this is what's most likely to fade a fabric.
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!