I have used my canner before, but that depends on how many yards of fabric you are going to use. The washer is about the best, especially with a tan color. When you are done, empty washer of water/dye and run bleach through the largest wash cycle, (no clothes or fabric) and it should take care of any lingering dye. I have pre-washed red fabric that bled, and made the inside of my washer red. I ran an empty bleach cycle afterwards. Everything turned out ok. This was using the older washers, not the front load. Good luck!