Dear Netfah,
The other day I bought a cotton/poly knit, kind of like the tee shirt material, that I really love. I am planning to make a dress for a friends birthday and wanted to know if I should prewash it to allow room for shrinkage before I start cutting.
-Suzie, San Francisco CA
Dear Suzie,
I would suggest washing almost any NON dry clean only material before I construct a garment in this case not only for shrinkage allowance, but for the same reason its good to wash new clothes before you wear them; you never know where they have been stored or what unwanted pests and chemicals may have found their way into the fibers.
Knits of any kind are pretty much guaranteed to shrink, especially the common jersey knit found in tee shirts and lounge wear, even if it is blended with polyester (which reduces shrinkage). How much shrinkage to expect is not guaranteed, so to prevent as much as possible, wash your fabric in cold water and hang dry. To keep vibrant colors bright, don\’t hang your knit material in the sun for too long as some fading could occur.
Keep in mind that the source of your material is just as relevant to the quality of your material before you handle it as after you purchase it. A bad fabric supplier or mill is capable of stretching the fabric on purpose or possibly skipping certain finishing steps when producing the fabric to save time and money. The end result, yardage that will eventually shrink back to its prestretched state, in addition to whatever length is lost during the pre washing process.
Jersey knit is a comfortable, versatile and easy to care for fabric once the prewash step iS complete. I am sure your girl friend will appreciate her birthday garment. Especially since it is fashioned with love.
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