Found a really nice bright red piece of fabric in my stash that had to come from a garage sale. So, I threw it in a bucket of cold water with a 1/2 cup of vinegar. I also threw in a piece of white material just in case my eyes were failing me. Anyway, I've let it soak twice, and both times the water is reddish.

My question is, would it help if I put it in the dryer to help set the color. By the way, the white piece of fabric is still white!

odd to me the water is reddish and the white is still white... puzzling....

I'd give the dryer a shot and then repeat ur soaking process

Just an FYI vinegar will not set dyes used on cotton fabric. It's really a myth that it has any affect. The benefits achieved using vinegar are in the prewashing.Vinegar will help to remove the sizing. Vinegar will work on acid type dyes , which are never used on quilters cotton fabrics.
You can try Retayne.

personally= i would put it in the washing machine and wash it- with color catchers- and detergent- if the color catchers turn pink i'd do it again and again until no more bleeding.
i tend to pre-wash my fabrics in either warm or hot water- i want what ever may come up to come up in the beginning.

Hmm since it came from a garage sale, maybe tosh it. It would be sad if it bled all over a quilt.

Thanks everyone! If the dryer doesn't work I'll have to buy some Retayne this weekend. On second thought, it would probably be cheaper to go out and buy another red...one that doesn't come from Finland. :roll:

If the white fabric didn't pick up the dye then what's the problem?

I would wash the fabric with Retayne. Some quilt shops carry it; otherwise it is easy to order online. Retayne is designed specifically to set unset dyes.

Bleeding can be due to dye not being set. However, it can also be due to excess dye in the fabric. Since you've soaked it twice and it is still bleeding, I would tend to think the problem is unset dye.

Not all fabrics will absorb unset dyes equally. The white you are using may be resistant to dye bleeds. However, other fabrics you use in a quilt may not be resistant to this bleed.

The safest approach is to wash and dry with Retayne. Some fabrics need two Retayne treatments. If the fabric still bleeds after that, it needs to be tossed or used for something that won't be washed or doesn't involve other fabrics. The only alternative to Retayne is to test the fabric against *every* other fabric used in the quilt (not something I would want to do).

It's probable the red dye didn't affect the white fabric because the white fabric probably wasn't cotton.

Good luck!

Jan in VA

Well, I guess I have to try Retayne. After taking it out of the dryer, I ironed it and thought...why not try the vinegar bath again. It's better but the water is still a light pink. :thumbdown: