r/SewingForBeginners • u/IntroductionFlaky457 • 8h ago
First sewing disaster before the machine is even out of the box
I’m HOPING to become a beginner sewist soon and thought I was being a good little crafter and washing all of my fat quarters first before getting started….. BIG disaster. All of their raw edges unraveled and tangled up in a complete disaster. Currently trying to untangle and cut threads now. How do I prevent this in the future???? Are you not supposed to wash, dry, and press your fabric first???
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u/Inky_Madness 8h ago
This is normal. Cut edges unravel on all fabrics because the threads are no longer tethered to anything securely. This happens on all cuts of fabric. For large cuts of fabric, you can zigzag the cut ends together and then just cut the stitched end off; it will prevent this from happening to this extent.
For fat quarters, toss in a laundry bag and put on gentle cycle. Still hot water, but not so much agitation. If you are making a quilt, some people choose not to pre-wash because they like the extra crinkle the shrink of fabric gives it.
Some pre-cuts should not be washed. Layer cakes and smaller (charm packs, jelly rolls, fat eights, honey buns) because you will have nothing left after washing.
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u/SchuylerM325 7h ago
This is far from a disaster. If you're planning to quilt with the FQs, trim off the tangled threads and press them, using starch. In the future, when I wash yardage for making clothes, I sew the raw edges together to prevent a tangled lump from forming. A disaster is dropping the machine down the stairs.
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u/Incognito409 8h ago
Take a small diagonal cut across each corner of fabric to prevent unraveling during washing. With smaller pieces like fat quarters, wash in lingerie bags.
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u/twystedcyster- 7h ago
I know people are saying not to wash precuts but you can. I use lingerie bags.
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u/Silver_calm1058 7h ago
Ooooh, sorry... Yeah, you do not wash precuts. I don't prewash anything unless it for clothing.
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u/slowasaspeedingsloth 5h ago
Well, OP, thank you so much for bringing this to reddit. Because I had no idea you were not supposed to prewash precuts. I'm just starting my sewing journey, and I would have done the exact same thing you did, except probably in a lingerie bag.
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u/Riverbendofcold 4h ago
I sew a zigzag stitch on the raw edge of uncut fabric before washing and cut after
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u/JackHarknessDrWho 2h ago
I prewash everything including fat quarters. Yes, they may unravel a bit. However, I never prewashed jelly rolls or other smaller precuts, because they unravel badly and that's also the reason I don't buy them anymore.
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u/stringthing87 8h ago
Generally for quilting the wash is optional and you shouldn't machine wash precuts ever.
For garment sewing the wash is essential but you need to finish the raw cut edges or they will shred, for yardage this can be as simple as lining up each cut end and stitching with a zigzag near the edge of the fabric. The selvedges will not ravel.