Ella Demchuk

Hi everybody,

I am a new quilter and don't have a lot of experience. In one of the magazines I saw a quilt made out of men's ties and liked the idea. But I came across two problems which cann't solve without help.

1 Not all the ties have a tag that says 'all silk', and I cann't see the difference between silk and good polyester. Are there any tips or tricks I can use?

2 Some of the ties especially the reds and greens have bleeding color, I tried using vinegar but it's not really helping. Are there any ways to set the color?

P.S. Currently I live in California, but originally from Ukraine. My daughter helped me write this message, so please be understanding if I don't write a lot. :)

gollytwo

There are a couple of books on making quilts from Men's ties.
Check with your library
I don't think there's a problem mixing silks and poly - they'll just have a different touch.

jrharry

Hi and welcome from Northern California! Use to live in Hayward and San Jose and worked for BART. Glad you joined the quilting board.

TonnieLoree

Silk ties are meant to be dry cleaned. I know some silks are washable, but I think hand wash only. If no one else comes up with suggestions, then Google it. If the tie does not say "Silk", it probably isn't. You might even open one up to see if the content label is inside. Everything is supposed to be marked with at least that. Good luck!

Tartan

There is a product called Retayne (get it at Quilt Shop) that sets fabric dyes but it is supposed to be done in hot water. I think that may shrink silk? I have a lot of ties of questionable content that I plan on using in a bow tie pattern quilt. I put them in my washing machine with my regular detergent and washed them, darks in one load, lights in another. They did come out in a giant jigsaw but I separated them out and hung them on the line outside to dry. Any tie that did not come through the abuse I discarded. I figured if they survived the wash load that should be good to go. I would separate out your bleeders and discard them and use the others.

Ella Demchuk

Gollytwo,
Thanks, I will check the library


Jrharry,
Thank you. Now I live in Fremont :)

TonnieLoree,
That is a logical explanation and so true!

Tartan,
Oh, it is probably that!
Before loading the ties I wet them and lay them down on a paper towel. After 5 min you see if there is any color bleeding! But if I just wash them the white piece of cloth that I throw in there comes out almost white. Have you tried that?

gollytwo

You can always use a "color catcher" when you wash your quilts if you are afraid of colours running.
Supermarkets carry them, usually in the laundry products section.

Glassquilt

Do a burn test.
Silk will ash, polyester will melt

http://english.cri.cn/974/2005/08/18/[email protected]

Holice

There are couple or so books on using men's ties in quilts. They all have instructions for washing and preparing the fabric. One good one is
Daddy's Ties by Shirley Botsford

clynns

I have alot of ties thanks to others on the board and some were questionable. I had forgot about the burn test. THANK YOU!