washed them: 
and found out that the main fabric shrinks a bunch. 4" squares before:
And after:
Realized that since the fiber contents of the fabric and the applique are different, I should probably pre-wash the fabrics before doing the applique. Too bad I already cut out the pattern pieces.
So now I'm overcasting the edges of all the pattern pieces so I can pre-wash them:
Good thing my sewing machine has a stitch for that:
