While I was at a quilting retreat this past weekend, I purchased 4 yards of solid red cotton at at LQS with the plans to use it in a quilt with a red and white print and a red and white toile. While there I washed it in warm water with plenty of Color Catchers four times and was still getting pink staining of the Color Catchers. Plus, the red doesn't look new and pretty any longer. Had I had Synthrol available (I didn't) and used it, would I have kept the pretty new-fabric color and protected the other fabrics from turning pink in the future quilt? I've been reading through past posts about the issue of the color running, but haven't seen the issue of the fabric staying pretty addressed. Or does that just go without saying? I'm going buy more red for the toile quilt and just use this faded red in about a million scrappy quilts or something where it won't be as glaring. Thanks to any and all with info for me.

If you had not incorperated the fabric into the quilt or cut it , Retayne to set the colors is a better choice. But once treated you do have to wash thereafter in cold water.

you want to use retayne to set the dye.

synthrapol is like a color catcher in that it deals with the dye floating in the water - it will not do anything to set the dye.

Sometimes soaking red yardage in a bucket of cold salt water overnight sets the color.
How much salt? Throw salt in until it stops dissolving.
Some grains will stay on the bottom.
Rinse and see if the color stays.
Rinse again in fresh water. Wring as dry as possible and iron right away until dry. The hot iron helps set the color too.

Thanks for the suggestions and tips.

I made a quilt a few months ago using black/white fabric and red. When I washed the quilt the red only bleed onto two on the cheeper black/white prints and turned the white part pink, Very strange. Now I make sure I only use good quality fabric.

Try washing it again, using color catchers from the supermarket.
It might "catch out "the red color from the white.