It is a good plan to pre-treat your fabric

I finally decided to use the small piece of butterfly print fabric that I picked up a couple of months ago. There is enough for the bodice piece and the short sleeves. I had a solid blue linen/cotton blend that I planned on using with the print for the skirt portion.

I was quite excited and went to work at pre-shrinking my fabric. I popped them both in the washing machine  followed by a tumble in the dryer.

Oh no!

You'll never guess what happened.

Yup, the unthinkable.

The blue solid fabric faded and now it is not looking as appealing as it did before that tumble. Yikes.

I not quite as smitten with the match-up as I was prior to the pre-treatment. So, I'm pre-shrinking another hue of blue cotton fabric as I type.

Fingers crossed it will work out.

Clockwise:  The butterfly print, the faded cotton/linen,
and the new blue.  

Update:  It is a darker blue than my first choice. But since my first choice faded significantly I will go with the darker blue instead.

Lesson learned:  Add a 1/4 cup of vinegar to the pre-wash to avoid discolouring.  And I knew this trick, I just got caught up in the excitement of starting a new project.