Washing Fabrics
This is a personal choice if you prefer to wash your fabrics or not before you use them. Some people like fabric unwashed as it has a crispness about it making it easier to sew with but you may like to use your fabric with a softer feel. With good quality cotton the colours should not run but you sometimes can get some leakage with the reds but if you put a colour catcher in with the quilt when washed this should prevent any darker colours leaking into the lighter fabrics if you do not wish to pre-wash. If you're unsure then my advise would be to colour fast test a small piece of the fabric before use.
Any fabrics with metallic on them should be hand washed and not spun.
If washing your fabric by machine it should be unfolded before placing into the machine. Wash light and dark fabrics separately. Soak dark fabrics for about an hour in cold water before machine washing, and use a non-bioproduct. Wash at 30 degrees.
Set the washing machine to a low spin. The fabrics can be tumble dried but remove when slightly damp and press with an iron.