Do you prewash as soon as you buy a fabric? If so, what about yardage of more than a few yards? Doesn't it get all tangly in the wash?

I would say about half my stash is prewashed. It was all prewashed before I hit the LA fabric district, and its all been downhill from there. I'm embarrassed to say sometimes I even make stuff without prewashing at all. :eek:

What kind of shrinkage can I expect from prewashing? I haven't ever paid attention and now that I am surrounded by the great unwashed I think I'm in trouble. I either have to just bite the bullet and wash everything since I have no clue what I have previously washed, or cut the appropriate yardage for my pattern then wash and cut my pattern.

I think I said wash more times in this post than is healthy.

lol... nak
i do the same as you. i found that PRR doesn't shrink too terribly bad- BN does badly. when its more than 2 yds, i don't wash till i need it. then i cut the yardage i need and wash. that gives me more time to cure it and love it while its pristinely folded. lol

...this is a sickness, you know. :D

ETA- i usually expect 2-3 " of shrink, to be safe, but am usually pleasantly suprised. except w/ the #$%^& BN. but it is really yummy when washed.

also...do the garment makers wash/preshrink before making RTW stuff??? i think not asometimes as some RTW shrinks down a few sizes.
I've learned my lesson and preshrink now LOL

I wash 90% of it as it comes in the door - it's the rewarding part of buying fabric LOL. But if I have a ton of it already and just want it for just in case, I'll set it in a small pile I have of unwashed. The thing about shrinkage as it typiclaly shrunks up alot more than in (width). So it can be hard to get it right if you sew it up first.

I wonder how RTW companies like baby lulu and baby nay do it...

alison, we were asking the same Q at the same time. I am certain baby lulu preshrinks because i've had pretty good luck w/ sizes being true after washing.v other boutique clothes i don't think do... i get so pissed when stuff shrinks bad..

okay, i'm barely coherent. going to bed :P

I wonder how RTW companies like baby lulu and baby nay do it...

I was asking a friend who owns a small children's boutique clothing company what she did about prewashing fabric and she said that she washes a 20" square swatch of each fabric and measure how much it shrinks. Then she'll grade the pattern up in size by the appropriate amount.