Pre-Washing: Risks and Rewards

We’ve all done it. We get so excited to start a new project, that we just go for it. “Let’s just start cutting this fabric. Pre-wash? Who cares, I’ll risk it….”

Bad idea. Very bad idea.

I was so tempted to start this new design the other day, and I stopped myself just in time. I literally had to talk myself into washing the fabric. It was a new fabric line, one that I hadn’t used before and was unfamiliar with it’s colorfastness. It was a very dark color: primarily greyish black with rust and oranges mixed in. Reds and Oranges—they’re historically volatile in their dyeing and often run.

Luckily, I listened to myself. Had I not, it would have been a disaster. I always throw color catchers in with my fabrics for multiple reasons. I like to have an insurance policy to be sure if anything does run, the color catchers will catch it. (I’m pretty sure my husband throws one into every wash he does, just in case.) But more importantly, I like to be able to check how much and what colors did run. A perfectly white color catcher at the end of the wash cycle tells me I have nothing to worry about.

Here’s what the color catchers looked like after washing. I washed these fabrics five times to get them out of risk. Yes. Five times. Can you just imagine what my white background backing would have looked like if I hadn’t washed these?! Please folks, take the time to pre-wash!!

Close up of first wash color catchers