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Old 09-07-2010, 10:36 PM
  #9  
Prism99
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 12,930
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I have never had a problem with batiks, but because this is such an important quilt you might want to pre-wash each fabric in Retayne.

There are different reasons for fabric bleeding.

Probably the most common is that the fabric has been over-saturated with dye (more dye than the fabric can hold); the excess "bleeds" during the first wash and afterwards wash water runs clear.

Sometimes the manufacturer has not properly "set" the dye. When this happens, the unset dye can bleed continuously, wash after wash. Retayne sets dye in today's commercial fabrics, which is why I recommend prewashing with Retayne.

"Crocking" is another problem to watch out for. This is when dye transfers to another fabric by rubbing against it (usually when wet). This is why it is not a good idea to let contrasting fabrics sit next to each other for a long time after the washing machine has finished its cycle.

Once a quilt has been created, I always do the first washing with Synthrapol. Synthrapol suspends any loose dye particles in the water so they can be rinsed away instead of settling into other fabrics.
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