My fabric is ruined!!! What should I do? AARRGGHH!
06-21-2011, 10:46 PM
#51
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: at my sewing machine
Posts: 1,916
Originally Posted by butterflywing
Originally Posted by fabric_fancy
its not the retayne its the fabric
you can try washing it again in the hottest water you can to remove the retayne and then wash it again in the hottest water you can to try and fade it even further.
you can then over dye it yourself with purple to try and achieve a more uniform color.
with all that said i love the mottled look and wouldn't do a thing - but i'm not you and i understand the disappointment when a fabric doesn't turn out exactly as you wanted.
you can try washing it again in the hottest water you can to remove the retayne and then wash it again in the hottest water you can to try and fade it even further.
you can then over dye it yourself with purple to try and achieve a more uniform color.
with all that said i love the mottled look and wouldn't do a thing - but i'm not you and i understand the disappointment when a fabric doesn't turn out exactly as you wanted.
it's very, very nice the way it is and definitely looks like it was supposed to be that way. i would wash it one more time to be sure it's finished doing whatever it did.
while i am not a fan of RIT or Dylon dye, i use procion, it can be used and treated with retayne to prevent fading and bleeding.
here is an article on how to use these products for your reading pleasure
http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/allpurposedye.shtml
also if you choose a dye that is the color of the dark mottled sections you can even out the mottled tone of the fabric.
i know this to be a fact because i do it all the time with my fabric when i'm not happy with how the mottled effect has come out in the dyeing process.
instead of getting rid of the fabric i simply dye it again to an even color tone that looks just like kona cotton.
06-22-2011, 02:46 AM
#52
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,148
I understand your frustration, after all, sale or no sale you paid hard-earned money for this fabric. However, I cannot for the life of me see the problem. It looks like the fabric has not been ironed and I can't tell what may be shadows from wrinkling and the fading you are talking about. I say cut it up and use it anyway. Just use it for relatively small
pieces of the block pattern...certainly not borders if it is that obvious. And don't go around telling everybody who sees this gorgeous quilt, let them ooh and ahh over the beautiful hand-dyed fabrics! Only your buddies here need to know the truth.
pieces of the block pattern...certainly not borders if it is that obvious. And don't go around telling everybody who sees this gorgeous quilt, let them ooh and ahh over the beautiful hand-dyed fabrics! Only your buddies here need to know the truth.
06-22-2011, 03:10 AM
#54
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Marion, IA
Posts: 462
Prewashing can indeed prevent surprises later. I wonder if the lady used cold water when washing the quilt in which the blue backing bled. She could have washed it again with a few color catcher sheets and the bleeding might have come out.
06-22-2011, 03:13 AM
#55
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: North Somerset coast, United Kingdom
Posts: 20
I can imagine how disappointed you are because you chose the fabric because you liked it as it was but........
........ I love the mottled effect and think it will look even yummier once it's been quilted. Your daughter-in-law will love it, I'm sure!
........ I love the mottled effect and think it will look even yummier once it's been quilted. Your daughter-in-law will love it, I'm sure!
06-22-2011, 03:25 AM
#56
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Appleton, WI
Posts: 1,008
I don't believe they will give you a refund. First it is cut fabric and most do not give refunds on cut fabric. Second, it is washed and once washed, I really don't think they will give you that refund. I would wash it again to try to get it more even, cold water, same detergent and alone. Good luck.
06-22-2011, 04:06 AM
#58
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: McLoud, OK
Posts: 13,264
[quote=karenm36]
This sounds like the solution to me! and I really don't think the fabric looks that bad!
Originally Posted by bluteddi
I would run it back thru the washer.....
Well, I hadn't decided on the pattern quite yet...so many to think about! But, the Thinking Outside the Box pattern (which is really a kind of Log Cabin) uses smaller strips of fabric instead of larger pieces...which may conceal the fabric color inconsistency better than using larger pieces. Thinking now I may need to choose a pattern where I use smaller pieces...what do you think?
Well, I hadn't decided on the pattern quite yet...so many to think about! But, the Thinking Outside the Box pattern (which is really a kind of Log Cabin) uses smaller strips of fabric instead of larger pieces...which may conceal the fabric color inconsistency better than using larger pieces. Thinking now I may need to choose a pattern where I use smaller pieces...what do you think?
06-22-2011, 04:10 AM
#59
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Dallas TX
Posts: 367
Originally Posted by karenm36
I'm just so sad...I don't know where to go from here. I posted a few days ago this beautiful collection of green and purple fabric that I got on sale and was going to use it for a quilt for my DDIL. And so many of you gave me great ideas for a pattern...I could hardly contain my excitement about starting this quilt! But now I'm crushed!
Well, a little back story here...I had some yellow fabric that kept fading when I pre-washed it. My other colors didn't seem to do this...just the yellow. (No I don't use bleach or have bleach in the detergent). So I purchased some Retayne and it worked beautifully keeping the color in so nicely. Well since most fabric looses just a little color when washed...I thought I'd use the Retayne on the fabric for my DDIL's quilt...because I wanted the fabric to look as pretty as possible. I followed the directions to the "T". But...after examining the fabric when it came out of the dryer I realized ALL the pieces had some degree of fading spots on them. Looks terrible! The Retayne worked on parts of the fabric but not all...everything has this mottled look to it. :cry:
Don't know if this can be fixed or not...I don't know how to approach solving this. This was sale fabric so most of it's gone by now...and I can't afford to buy it all over again anyway. Sigh...any ideas? Since all of the fabric is like this...do I go ahead and use it anyway...saying it's meant to have a "vintage, worn-out look" to it?
Just need to vent here. Thanks for your collective listening ear. But if anyone has any idea as to how I can make all this messed up fabric work I sure would appreciate your ideas. I'll post one pic so you can see it...it's hard to see as the camera doesn't capture it very well but you'll get the idea.
Well, a little back story here...I had some yellow fabric that kept fading when I pre-washed it. My other colors didn't seem to do this...just the yellow. (No I don't use bleach or have bleach in the detergent). So I purchased some Retayne and it worked beautifully keeping the color in so nicely. Well since most fabric looses just a little color when washed...I thought I'd use the Retayne on the fabric for my DDIL's quilt...because I wanted the fabric to look as pretty as possible. I followed the directions to the "T". But...after examining the fabric when it came out of the dryer I realized ALL the pieces had some degree of fading spots on them. Looks terrible! The Retayne worked on parts of the fabric but not all...everything has this mottled look to it. :cry:
Don't know if this can be fixed or not...I don't know how to approach solving this. This was sale fabric so most of it's gone by now...and I can't afford to buy it all over again anyway. Sigh...any ideas? Since all of the fabric is like this...do I go ahead and use it anyway...saying it's meant to have a "vintage, worn-out look" to it?
Just need to vent here. Thanks for your collective listening ear. But if anyone has any idea as to how I can make all this messed up fabric work I sure would appreciate your ideas. I'll post one pic so you can see it...it's hard to see as the camera doesn't capture it very well but you'll get the idea.
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