I made 32 redwork and bluework flour sack towels for giving this past Christmas (daughter and daughter in laws get replacement towels every couple of years). I prewashed all the towels (Aunt Marthas from Hobby Lobby), then embroidered. Then I washed them all and dried them. I wanted to make sure they were 'set' before giving them to make sure there were no issues. Not one of them bled. I used the embroidery thread from ThreadArt. Never had a problem with the thread (I won't rave about their cotton thread-too linty for me) in anything I have embroidered. ThreadArt is the only thread I have used for the redwork so I can't give an opinion on any other brand I have.