A saleswoman at JoAnn's let me know that all of their fleece on the bolt has formaldehyde in it as a preservative in the warehouse. She tells everyone using it for kids to wash it well before use. Thought you'd all want to know since many ppl get fleece for liners at JoAnn's.
Re: JoAnn's fleece and formaldehyde
I asked her about other fabrics (I was buying some minkee too) and she said, no just the fleece. I usually prewash to shrink anyway, but I'm going to do some extra washes with this fleece.
I don't know that other fabrics have formaldahyde on them, but most do have chemicals of some form- I used to work at Hancocks, and when we'd rip the plastic off bolts of new fabric, the smell on some of them could be overwhelming. And it's probably safe to say if JoAnne's fleece has it on theirs, so does fleece you buy in any mainstream store.