I am not a prewasher by choice! If I can get away with it I do not Prewash my Fabric. I only prewash if the fabric bleeds.


I use a lot of Indian fabric in my work. And a lot of it bleeds. I used to irritate me till I came to know that  when organic dyes are used to dye cotton fabric, it bleeds. If the dye doesn't bleed or the fabric doesn't fade after washing, the dye has chemicals in it. Since then, I have been really positive about fabric that bleeds.

A friend introduced me to this trick. She told me to rub a wet wipe on one corner of the fabric to see if the color bleeds. If it does, prewash the fabric. If not, go ahead and sew! I loved this tip. But I also combined this tip with one my Father-in-law used. He soaked my Mother-in-law's cotton sarees in a mixture of Water, salt and jaggery. It sets the dye in. I do that every time with Indian fabrics.

I also do not prewash if the quilt I am making is an art quilt. Art quilts are usually not washed. So the chance of them bleeding color is very rare.

Are you a prewasher or not?