Do You REALLY Need to Prewash T-Shirts? (HTV + Embroidery Experiment)

Should you prewash T-shirts and other blank clothing items used for embellishment such as HTV or embroidery designs due to shrinkage? In a nearly year long Sewing Report experiment, I sought to answer this question. How did I do it? I started off with two 100% cotton T-shirts & two cotton/polyester blend T-shirts, prewashed one of each while leaving the other two as-is. On each shirt, I embroidered the same design with basic polyester thread and applied generic HTV (heat transfer vinyl) on the inside back near the neckline. Then I ran all of the T-shirts through the washer and dryer 10 times to see how the designs fared through repeated laundry cycles. Originally I hypothesized that the 100% cotton T-shirts would experience a higher amount of shrinkage, while the cotton/poly blend shirts would be closer in appearance after the 10 washings. I assumed that the designs on the unwashed 100% cotton shirts would be the most distorted at the end. Was I right? You may be surprised...

Ladies' Ideal V-Neck T-Shirt - Mint
https://www.jiffyshirts.com/nextlevel-N1540.html?ac=Mint
Ladies' 4.5 oz., 100% Ringspun Cotton Nano-T® V-Neck T-Shirt - White
https://www.jiffyshirts.com/hanes-S04V.html?ac=White
Iron on Vinyl Heat Transfer Vinyl
https://amzn.to/3J2kuCb

*Note: this information does not apply to garment sewing with fabric. Typically you should prewash or pretreat it before cutting into it if you plan to launder it afterward. There are obviously some exceptions to this rule, but I will still prewash common fabrics like cotton, rayon, linen, etc.*

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Expressions Vinyl - cheap HTV, adhesive, craft vinyl
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How to Use a Sewing Machine ✔️ Basics + Overview | Brother CS7000i
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How to Sew Basic Straight Stitches on a Sewing Machine | Beginner Lesson
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