Originally Posted by RDM
Need advice-anyone know of a product to spray on or?? that might keep fabric from sloughing off dye color? Friend washed her backing (given to her-not one she purchased) and while quilting, it is sloughing off the dye color. All suggestions will be much appreciated. She's in a rush to complete large wall quilt for a show.
If she has not already sandwiched it into the quilt, she needs to wash it in Retayne and then test it. Sometimes fabric will need to be washed again in Retayne to fix all dye. Retayne permanently fixes dye that has not bee properly set.
If it's already in the quilt (you mention that she is quilting), the only thing she can do is wash the finished quilt in Synthrapol with several color catchers thrown in and hope for the best. Synthrapol suspends unset dye particles in water so they can be washed away. (You never want to wash a finished quilt in Retayne. It will permanently set any bleeds.)
If the dye is "rubbing off" onto other fabrics and surfaces, this is called crocking. The fabric may contain excess dye (more than the fibers can aborb) that was not properly rinsed out. There is no spray that I know of that will prevent crocking.
The one thing I could suggest trying is spray starching the surface several times. (Lay out on a larger sheet, mist with spray starch, let dry, mist again, let dry, etc.) The starch might provide a barrier to prevent the dye from crocking excessively. It also makes machine quilting easier.