the thing about batik's is...they are hand dyed...and not always rinsed totally well...even if you never pre-wash your fabrics where batiks are concerned...better safe than sorry! at least test each one for color bleeding...if you wet a batik, rub it with a white cloth and color comes off...you need to wash it..until no more color runs. i have spent money on really expensive batiks that have run horribly and i've bought some that did not run at all...where batiks are concerned it is always best to at least test :thumbup:
2 years ago i made my mom a new quilt, it has a (grandmas's flower garden) pot of flowers in the center and was patchwork...white, blues and purples...i did pre-wash all of my batiks...and made the quilt...it turned out lovely and she loves it...stopped by a couple weeks ago and was totally SHOCKED when i saw the quilt on her bed--i dont know what kind of detergent she is using but there is not a white spot on the quilt!the whole quilt is now a mottled blue/purple! i was really upset..but did not say anything except...geez, guess i should have pre-washed those fabrics huh?...which i had done and i washed the quilt before i gave it to her...but those fabrics are bleeding like crazy now ;-)