At our local quilt show this past weekend, I became weak and bought a quilt kit that has all these lovely batiks in shades of blues and purples from the SewBatik company. The pattern is a fat quarter log cabin.

I have never worked with batiks before but have admired them from a distance.

The instructions say to wash the fabric and use Synthrapol or Retayne. Of course, I don't have either! Do you think it would be okay to wash using cold water and a color lifter?

I would also like to hand quilt this thing when it's finished. Is hand quilting on batik any different from any other 100% cotton fabric? :D

Hubby has camera or I'd show you pictures of the fabrics as they are just luscious! But here is a look at the quilt -- imagine this in light blue background with lots of blues and purples....

http://www.sewbatik.com/detail.aspx?ID=916

I am not sure, but I would not use a color lifter. I would use vinegar and ice cold water instead. Tha's what I do for my embroidery thread and never had any one bleed.

Maria

What kind of vinegar and how much??? (Don't you just love really stupid questions????)

The color lifter I was talking about was one of those little sheets you put in the washer to catch any excess dye that comes out while washing. Maybe I should have called it a color catcher instead :oops: :roll:

How pretty - the color catchers do a pretty good job for me. before you drain the rinse water, open the lid and see if the water is clear, and re-rinse if the colors still show.

Some batiks are more closely woven than quilting fabric, but it probably won't be an issue if you are using a thimble. I bet it just sparkles with all the batiks - keep that camera close for progress pictures.

You want to set the dyes (not wash them away) to keep the colors most vibrant. I use Retayne on all my batiks, but would especially use that (and not vinegar) since the instructions for the kit call for it. Here's some valuable info an batiks that you might find useful as a new user. http://www.batiks.com/a_batik.html

How about putting together a small quilt sandwich and trying some hand stitching to see how it goes with this particular fabric.

Retayne! It's worth it.

i use retayne

Get yourself some Retayne. It sets the batiks and you will love it for all future projects, I promise.

That is a beautiful quilt pattern and your colors sound beautiful. Keep us posted as you begin to piece it. I can't wait to see it.