My first large quilt (a queen size) was satin stitch embroidery on a white whole cloth background. My borders, on the other hand, were a very bright red. My cousin who is a commercial quilter in Oklahoma had cautioned me to check the fabric before attaching it to the remainder of the top. So, I cut a small scrap from the extra, and put it into a glass of very hot water! Did anyone say bleed? Boy, howdy, did it ever. I tried every "home remedy" I had suggested to me, from epsom salts, to white vinegar, to hot water, and it was still bleeding. I began to do a little bit of research and discovered (in addition to color catchers) Rit Dye Company has a product (and I don't have any interest at all in Rit Dye) called a "Dye Fixative". Well, I went online and ordered (because it's not stocked in any store on my area--I looked). The shipping for the single bottle cost more than the product, but after getting the results, I didn't care! It stopped the dye bleeding immediately and I became a real believer in the product. With the other "remedies" I tried, I tested the fabric after every one of them. Taking a scrap of the fabric that had been through all of the tests, I would place it in a glass of very hot water -- a white undyed paper towel will pick up the color if there's any bleeding at all. It's very easy to tell. I don't have a great deal of knowledge about most things -- this is just what worked for me. I'm getting ready to start on another quilt that is going to have red and white blocks, and I'm going to do the same thing, probably on the stove top so, using the fixative in order of the color intensity in the fabric, so I can maximize the benefit of the fixative.
That being said, I am a rank amateur myself, but I assure you that if I made a quilt, failed ot prewash, or use a dye fixative, and the red bled over onto the white making it pink, I would never make another quilt. That's heartbreaking and far too expensive for my budget. I know it's a lot of extra work, but I think it's worth the precautions.
Jeanette Frantz
Originally Posted by
AuntSuSuSews
Good Morning. Newbie (fairly) to quilting and I would love to hear from y'all about washing fabric before starting a quilt or not? I find it to be a pain but I'm scared of colors running after the quilt is done. I've just finished a red and white quilt and am scared that the dark red will bleed. Thought I buy a detergent specifically for cold wash. What do you do?