Fabric Prewashing, the Pros and Cons

Some quilters never pre-wash their fabrics. I nearly always prewash, because I don't want any surprises when I take a quilt I've spent hours and hours designing and constructing out of the washing machine for the first time. A few basic prewashing pros and cons will help you decide if you'd rather wash your fabrics before using them or start cutting and sewing them right off the bolt. If you decide not to prewash, be sure to perform a bleed test on fabrics before sewing them into a quilt, just to make sure their dyes are stable.
_{Photo ©Janet Wickell}