Why you should pre-wash your fabrics

I am a big advocate to pre-wash your fabrics, even for items that are not worn and here are my reasons why:

• Some fabrics tend to shrink once they are washed. Pre-washing prevents your finished garment from shrinking and warping. Hence you won’t end up giving the garment you spend so much time making to someone of a smaller size.
• If you choose to combine different types of fabrics in the garment, fabrics shrink at different levels. As a result, you could end up if with a final product that has an uneven finish
• This one is important, especially with linens and dyed not printed fabrics, they tend to bleed. Therefore, if you make a beautiful product that is white and red, you could end up with pink instead of white.
• Some Fabrics like cotton may be penetrated with starch to make them stiff and shiny. Hence the Pre-wash helps remove said additives and shows the real texture of the fabrics and easier to handle.
• You never know where these fabrics have been stored in warehouses. Which could mean that there are critters and such that put souvenirs in the fabrics? So Pre-wash is a good idea to get rid of any unwanted germs.

Some tips for pre-washing

• I recommend washing the fabrics at the same settings as you would when the project is finished, that will prevent further shrinkage.
• Some people like to zig-zag the edges to avoid fraying (I am not one of them)
• Delicate fabrics may be better off to hand wash or delicate cycle and line dry, that prevents the fabrics from getting damaged.
• Knitted wool should be washed by hand in cold water (to prevent felting and shrinking), dry flat.
• After Pre-Washing, iron your fabric, it will be so much easier to cut.

I hope this tips help you and make your decision to wash your fabrics first easier.

Happy Sewing!