Thread: Making eyes

I am getting ready to embroider some eyes on my fish (blocks). Do I need to put some interfacing on the wrong side of the block where the eye will be embroidered on top of? IF so, should it be just the size of the eye? Also. i didn't wash the fabric beforehand and I just realized I have a very deep red fabric. Is there something I can prewash that in (not the washer because they are smaller pieces) so that it will not bleed on the other fabric? You gals are the best! Thanks in advance!!!

Put them in a mesh bag with a color catcher. Would that work ?

I do very, very little machine embroidery, but I would use a tear-away stabilizer.

You could always hand wash the red fabric. I would personally toss it in the wash unless it was already cut to size, but if you prefer to hand wash it, I would add in a tablespoon of Tide Free to the laundry sink & gently agitate with my hands. Then I would toss it in the dryer on low I just did that with 2.5" strips and they came out perfect -- no frays or shrinkage.

Small pieces can be hand washed, spun in a salad spinner until almost dry and ironed. Wet a piece of your red and lay it on white paper towel to dry. If there is any colour on the paper towel it will probably bleed. There is a product called Retyne that you can wash fabric with BEFORE putting it in a quilt. Color catchers can help when the whole quilt is washed.
If the eyes are heavily satin stitched, a stabilizer will prevent "tunneling" if it is a small spot, a coffee filter behind can be used and cut away from the back after.

Originally Posted by Tartan

Small pieces can be hand washed, spun in a salad spinner until almost dry and ironed. Wet a piece of your red and lay it on white paper towel to dry. If there is any colour on the paper towel it will probably bleed. There is a product called Retyne that you can wash fabric with BEFORE putting it in a quilt. Color catchers can help when the whole quilt is washed.
If the eyes are heavily satin stitched, a stabilizer will prevent "tunneling" if it is a small spot, a coffee filter behind can be used and cut away from the back after.

I have looked online in many places and cannot find RETYNE. Is that a correct spelling? Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom!

I am satin stitching by hand. Eyes will be satin stitched. You gals are the best. I have no idea what I am doing! lol. I am not sure what color catchers are. Do I need to go to a quilt store for that? I like the paper towel idea. thanks sweet gals

If you are satin stitching by hand, put your work in a hand embroidery hoop and the taughtness should keep the work from puckering. Color catchers can be found in the laundry aisle in Target, Walmart etc. in US stores but if you live elsewhere, a little harder to find.