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Old 12-20-2010, 08:17 PM
  #4  
Prism99
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 12,930
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You could be just fine. I've used a lot of red fabrics that haven't bled at all.

What I would recommend at this point is that you make the quilt, then plan on washing it in a large washing machine with Synthrapol (sold in quilt shops and online, including Amazon). You want the largest washing machine you can get to ensure there is plenty of water to dilute any bleeds. If it does bleed, you may need to wash several times to make sure all excess dye is gone.

The color catcher sheets are good, but they cannot handle huge bleeds. Even Synthrapol may not completely handle a huge bleed, but at least it will minimize the bleed plus subsequent washings (don't dry in-between if there are any bleeds) will gradually remove any mild bleeds.

Just be aware that Synthrapol is supposed to be used with hot water.

Edit: Also, I would recommend taking small pieces of each of the red fabrics you used and testing them as follows. (1) Place in a glass of water for a half hour or so and watch to see if any ribbons of dye bleed into the water. (2) Rub both the dry fabric and the damp fabric against a piece of white fabric to see if any dye rubs off. If all the red fabrics pass all these tests, then you are safe washing in your home washer with Synthrapol and/or color catchers.

Do *not*, when you wash, allow the damp quilt to lie crumpled on itself. Extended contact of the wet fabrics can facilitate dye transfer.

It is not safe to wash an unquilted sandwich or a quilt top before quilting. For a quilt top, the safest way to do this is to first baste the top to a foundation fabric and then hand wash. Washing a pieced top before it is quilted can create a tangled mess of frayed seams.
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