I purchased an antique king top, sunbonnet sue, had some funky spots. I quilted it on my long arm, took it to the laundramat, large capacity front loader with 4 color catchers. They were really pink when in removed the quilt. No bleeding anywhere. Dryed in the big dryer. Won a second place at the fair.

Lu in TN

I use many color catchers at one time. Also muslin works I'm told.

Judi in Ohio - muslin works as a color catcher?

I never agitate my quilts. I fill the machine with water and detergent, add the quilt, squeeze the water into it and let it soak for 30 mintues. Then, I advance the dial to spin, and repeat the steps on the rinse cycle.

I also would never put a quilt into a dryer. These machines are very hard on fabrics...the lint you remove from the lint trap are fabric fibers, you know! I have a 5-line clothesline...I drape the quilt evenly over all 5 lines, face down so that the sun will not fade the top (even though the clothesline is in the shade most of the day. If it were in full sun, I would probably throw a clean sheet over the quilt.)

You have spent all that money and time making a quilt, you should care for it as well as you can!

The quilts that I piece and hand-quilt, I will wash them in the washer on delicate or a hand wash cycle. I will put them in the dryer because that is probably how they will be washed once given to its owner. I don't necessarily dry them all the way, but enough to get it most of the way dry.

Hey, I have been using color catchers on all my quilting material and on the finished quilts in my front HE washer. I put the color catchers in the lingerie bags (usually 2 of them) and I have had no problems at all. I think that the color catchers could catch and land in the giant rubber washer/like ring next to the door. I have had socks, handkerchiefs, hose socks, and an occasional washcloth get captured by the this rubber thingy. And color catchers get caught in there and then they don't do their job because they aren't in the washing area. Soooo, I always put them in the lingerie bags...no problems at all and the catchers really love reds and blues.

Re: color catchers & front loaders. I used color catchers in my old top loader all the time. When I got my front loader, i just threw a couple in, like i always did. When I took the items out, the color catcher caught the color (say that fast 3 times) but... when I pulled the stuff out of the washer, I found that it had deposited the color onto a garment. There was a nice square of die on the t shirt when I peeled the color catcher off. Then I read the box, which said "not for use in front loaders". Now this was a couple years ago, and I understand now there's a disclaimer that tells you to put them in a mesh bag to keep them out of the drain, but i'm still worried about it depositing color on something else because of the low water level and high spin speeds. If I have a quilt larger than a twin I take it to the Laundromat for it's first wash, and use several color catchers.

This is my method too! I do not pre-wash my fabrics before making the quilt and I have never had any problems with the fabrics bleeding because I use color catchers in my front loader washer.

You won't have a problem if you place them in a lingerie bag. Otherwise they can get sucked up into the pump and that isn't good.

My king sized bed uses a quilt as a bedspread, and I have a cat that sheds a lot. I wash my quilt every other week in a front loader. I did use a color catcher the first time I washed it, but it was stable so I haven't used one since. I do use color catchers when I wash my red blouses, and have had no problems with them in my front loader. The only problem I have with home laundry of a king sized quilt is drying it! Imdry it for 20 minutes on medium, pull it out and rearrange, then repeat the procedure 2 more times.

However there are lots of variations in front loaders, so YMMV. Mine is a Samsung, and is hands down the best washer I have ever had. Clothes get very clean with not much water or detergent!

Pam