Sewing Washing fabric before using?

I wash anything that can be before sewing with it. Cottons definitely. They make "color catcher" sheets that I put in too, and if it comes out really dark I might wash the fabric again just to try to get out extra dye. This can make vibrant colors fade, but it also makes them way less likely to stain.

Prewashing also helps settle the fabric, sometimes if you make something and then wash it after it'll shrink unevenly and cause fit issues (though that's less obvious with doll clothes it can cause huge problems in anything bigger).

 

Definitely throw it in the washer and dryer, I do with all cottons, linens and any that I want to preshrink. If you are worried about the edges fraying you can run a zigzag stitch on the cut ends and the selvage won't fray. Washing will remove excess dyes and sizing chemicals and you will end up with a truer fit in the end.

 

Some people do, and some people don't. I always do because of sizing within the fabric (some people can be allergic to it) and generally dirty conditions under which it travels and in the store.

Washing will remove excess dye, but it will not set it (it will continue to leak until there is nothing left to leak); if you are looking to remove excess dye out of fabric, I recommend Dharma Trading's Dye Fixative. Vinegar only works if you are working with acid-based dyes and apply heat during the actual dyeing process.

I normally launder fabrics before as I would if I were to wash the item after it's been made. For more delicate fabrics, I handwash, but for other fabrics, directly into the washing machine. If it's a smaller cut of fabric, I will put it in the lingerie bag.

Happy sewing!!

 

I truly agree with everyone, you should always wash the fabric, it helps with the clothe you makes. Indeed, if you do an outfit, wash it, it might become too small, and that would be quite annoying after all that work ^^’

 

I suggest prewashing. I just received a pair of pants from acbjd that took three hand-washes with soap, two vinegar water soaks, and three plain water rinses until it stopped dropping dye into my sink. (wash, rinse, soak, wash, rinse, soak, wash, rinse). I still wouldn't trust them to be on the doll for longer than a few photos.

 

I prewash any new fabric i use, if it's washable. I soak for 15 minutes in white vinegar to set the dyes and then wash.

 

There are 2 reasons to always prewash your fabrics:

1. If it's got cotton in it, you want it to shrink BEFORE you go cutting and sewing stuff out of it.

2. If you bought it off the bolt at a fabric store, there is a non-zero chance that someone's little kid has wiped their nose off on the fabric. Eww!