Help, please!
I have a quilt top that has a dark purple batik border. Due to my absent-mindedness I didn't prewash the fabric. The rest of the quilt top is composed of various blue, green, turquoise batiks. I tested the purple batik today and it bleeds like crazy! I usually wash my tops in Retayne, have never used color catchers.
Question: Can I use both Retayne and color catchers at the same time? Or should I use just one or the other? Retayne label says use hot water, but I don't know if that's a good idea. Another question: I am going to have some text embroidered on some of the blocks. Should I wash the top before the embroidery is done? Thanks for any help! |
Retayne should be used prior to any construction. Using it after construction can fix bleeds to the other fabrics in the quilt. Use Synthropol after a quilt is complete in the wash cycle , it suspends dyes that have have been shed preventing staining of other fabrics in the quilt. You can finish the quilt and wash with synthropol for the first few washes.
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If you are sure it is going to bleed a lot you might consider just taking the border off and washing it until it quits bleeding, then put it back on. It would be a shame to ruin your other work because of a bleeder. Sounds like a lot of work, but that's better than ruining the whole quilt.
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Retyne before the fabric goes in a quilt. Synthrapol for suspending dye in the water after construction. Throw in several colour catchers as well. Do not dry the quilt top until all bleeds are gone.
I think if is a bad bleeder, I would remove the border and use another fabric. I don't machine embroider but I think it would be best before the quilt it washed because the fabric is firmer with the sizing in it. I don't think I would want to wash the embroidery before the quilt top was quilted due to shrinkage. |
Wash in the temperature water that is advised by the product that you use - it will make a big difference in how the product works!
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Take some scraps of all the fabrics and put them in a container with really hot water. Let them sit for a while and then check all the fabrics to see if they're the same color as they were to start with. It does *not* matter what color the water is, it only matters what color the fabric is that comes out of the water.
The fabric that *picks up* the excess dye is the real problem fabric. |
I always cut a small sample of each fabric that I will be using in a quilt and wash then together to see if any of the colors run before I piece my blocks. That way, I can eliminate any fabric that will be a runner.
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Originally Posted by BETTY62
(Post 6296270)
I always cut a small sample of each fabric that I will be using in a quilt and wash then together to see if any of the colors run before I piece my blocks. That way, I can eliminate any fabric that will be a runner.
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