Originally Posted by Lori S

I love to work on Batiks but... Just a few notes:
1. Do pretreat/wash fabrics with Retayne, batiks RUN/Bleed. it so worth the time to get to the problem prior to constuction. Prewashing will reduce some of the running/bleeding but unless pretreated they will continue to keep running ( smaller amounts at each washing) .
2. It can be tough to buy Batiks over the internet . Not all the colors will show in the small swatch, or the evenness of the color placement. Batiks like the Hoffman watercolor collection are really one color tone/tone so it is not so much of an issue with that collection.
I once purchased a batik on line , the swatch showed very good colors that I wanted but when arrived there was another color ( purple) that in the yardage.
3. Do not use Heat and Bond light or heavy , it leaves a residue stain.
4. Because they are so thightly woven , removing stitches can leave a permanent needle hole.
5. hand applique is painful .... really its hard to get the needle through.
6. If you run out of a specific batik it is next to impossible to get more . There is no identifier in the selvage , the fabric is completley dyed. So tracking one down ... is really hard. If purchasing from the internet do keep a note as to the manufacture and site used. There are a few batik lines ( Hoffman has one that is tonal , and produced for years , but there are lots and lots of shades in the collection and tough to see on a computer exactly which blue you have) .
7. Repeat number 1 .... can not stress the pretreat enough.

All that said .. I LOVE batiks and can not get enough of them. They can create some of the most dramatic quilts.