i have some deep purple batiks i bought for a lovers knot quilt, i have never washed fabrics for quilts before, is there special detergent, also i don't want to lose a lot of material to fraying, is there a way I can prevent the fraying, I don't have a serger do you just zig zag the 2 non selvage ends together. do i have to wash each fabric separately

First off, you said they are batiks, what brand?
REAL batiks are washed so much that rarely do they bleed, it is the painted ones from India you have to watch out for.
SEcondly, there is is retayne and synthropol you can use to stop bleeding!
Synthropol is what you would need, IF you really needed it.
Thirdly, did you TEST it to see if would bleed?
while dry, rub a clean white paper towel briskly over the fabric...see any color? IF so, you might never get it to stop bleeding! IF not, but you are still not sure, then take a small piece, and put into a bowl of HOT water...did it bleed? wring it out on a dry white paper towel...without rinsing it first...see any color? If so, then wash it in cold water with a little detergent and rinse it three times!
Re-test it again!
If NO color after the hot water test, then continue on about your business!

HOWEVER, this is a pet peave of mine, ALl fabrics should be washed, due to the chemicals put on them to get them into this country. Batiks in general because they are mostly Painted and have more chemicals on them!


To wash your fabric, you MUST remove the selvages or it will not shrink properly! You can clip the corners about 1/2", but that does not always work!

Either way, if they are batiks, they are tightly woven and you will not really LOSE that much fabric! Some fold them into 1/4's and then safety pin on all four corners...it does help quite a bit!

You wil find many, many opinions on washing among the members of the board. Some do, some don't. Testing for color fastness sounds like a good idea to me.

Personally, I tend to not wash except for swaps. I'm always too excited to start the project to worry about washing. Color catchers work wonders when fabrics bleed. I did a black, white and bright pinwheel quilt with no washing and no problems.

I've never used batiks but I'm sure many experts on here that have used them will give you some info.

I just throw my fabrics in with my regular laundry, lights or darks, with a color catcher sheet. My quilts are made to be used so I wash the fabric the same way I would wash a quilt. If it bleeds, I throw it away. I don't do a separate special wash unless I'm doing large amounts of yardage at the same time for backs. This way I always have all the fabric washed in stash and ready for inspiration to hit.

Diana