Piecing with dress shirts

[jsbperry]

I am wanting to use my deceased husband's dress shirts to make a quit top.  Do I need to wash them first to get the starch out?  And if so is there any thing that I can use to keep the quilt from being a wrinkled mess after washing it?

[Gator]

Personally I would leave the starch in the shirts.   I starch all my quilting fabric.  When piecing the fabric holds its shape better, less shrinkage, etc.  As far as becoming a wrinkled mess when the quilt is washed, it depends on many factors?  What was the shirts made out of, cotton, polyester, silk, etc?  What type of batting are you planning on using?  Are you quilting it dense or light, this will probably be the main factor in how much it wrinkles.    If the batting is made out of the same type of fabrics, you should be able to wash the quilt like you would the shirts.  It's a quilt so after washing it should have texture.  I doubt you want it to look like a heavily  starched shirt.  You would want it to be cuddly?  Just my thoughts.