How I wash my quilting fabrics

It sounds silly but I found this to be the best was to wash all my quilting fabric. When I bring my fabric home I try to wash it right away. Here are the steps.

• First I sort every piece of fabric light to dark.
• I fill the sink with warm water and a very small amount of laundry detergent( I use warm instead of cold because most people might wash their quilt in warm (even though I ALWAYS tell them to wash in cold) The warm water will let me know if I have any fabric with a bleed problem.
• I wash each piece one at a time starting with the light fabric working my way to the dark. (also I use detergent for two reasons) One it helps remove nasty chemicals. Two it will help in letting you know if you have cheap fabric by washing away layers put on cheap fabric to make it look good. (Better to know now before you put it in a quilt you worked very hard on.)
• If I have any fabric that bleeds, I use Retaine.
• After washing each piece I refill the sink with cold water and rinse each fabric starting with the light.
• after rinsing I roll the fabric in a towel to remove the excess water. I let each piece drip dry or I use the dryer sometimes when I'm in a hurry but not as a rule.

Happy Quilting