To pre-wash, or not to pre-wash?

[delladea]

Everyone seems to have their own views on when prewashing is appropriate. I was taught to always, always pre-wash my fabric lest I anger the sewing gods and end up with unpredictable shrinkage and bleeding on first wash. The majority of my sewing experience has been with quilter's cotton, shirting, and reclaimed t-shirt knits.

I have this bag pattern and I have a few yards of thick, dark denim from my stash that I want to use for this bag. I've never ever used brand new denim fabric before and am afraid if I wash it first I may end up with light streaks through the fabric. Not sure if its relevant, but I'm also planning to hand-embroider a design on the outside flap.

So, what would you do in this situation? TIA!

Edit: Thank you to everyone who commented. I confess to having a bad experience washing some dark, unfaded jeans once that left streaks all over the legs which left me leery. I decided to give pre-washing a go with some other dark denim items. :)

Comments

[weaverbird]

I would definitely prewash fabric for a bag, so that the bag itself could be washed without problems. Very impractical to have a utility bag you can't clean, because it's almost certain to need it eventually!

My experience with new denim is that you get lots of dye bleeding out into the first wash, but the fabric doesn't change color or get streaky, so you should be fine.

[delladea]

Good to know you've had positive denim washing experiences. :) I was leery because I bought a pair of dark, unfaded jeans once that streaked badly when I washed them the first time.

And yes, I hadn't thought of this bag getting messy on occasion initially. I'm thinking I'll pre-wash it with some other dark jeans.

[stlscape]

Re denim jeans streaking when washed, always wash them inside out. That minimizes the "crazing". /voice of experience

[pinesandmaples]

+1