To treat fabric before cutting by laundering or steam pressing to prevent shrinking later.

It is a good idea to wash your fabric in the manner in which your garment will be washed before you cut it and sew it. If you are making a pin cushion or a craft that will not be washed, you don't necessarily need to do this. The goal is to allow the fabric to shrink to whatever degree it is going to shrink before you use it; i.e., preshrinking it. If you do not do this, sewing your fabric without washing and drying it first, you may have puckers, uneven lines, buttonholes askew, etc. Do not preshrink dry clean only fabrics.