Originally Posted by QandE2010
Originally Posted by skippitydodahquilts
I don't pre-wash. I pay between $8-$10 a yard for fabric. With fabric of that quality, I shouldn't have to pre-wash, and I've never had problems, even with reds and purples.
I thought that, too. BUT the last quilt I made had a bunch of red batik next to white blocks. I paid $11.99 for the red batik at a top notch LGS. The quilt was very time intense. So I said, "Self, better color check the red to make sure I don't end up with pink & red!!". Good thing, it turned the water bright red. I washed it 8 times B-4 it finally quit running. Then I used retayne. Then after the quilt was finished, I added a couple color catchers to wash.
I've never worked with batiks...mainly because I've never found any that I'm just so crazy about that I just have to have it ;). But from what I understand, the process of dying batiks is much different than dying regular cotton. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that might be a reason batiks are more susceptible to bleeding.