Jeanette Frantz

My first bed-size quilt was a white background whole cloth, embroidered quilt, with the dreaded red borders. Having had discussions with my cousin who had her own quilt shop, I knew there was a possibility of the red fabric bleeding -- it did, it bled rivers. I tried epsom salts, vinegar (2 gallons), and that accomplished nothing other than a waste of my time and money. I researched online and found a product which I always use if I have a bleeder, so I Test every solid color or printed fabric. If the test reveals bleeding, I treat the fabric, run it through the wash cycle, dry and iron, if needed. Plus, discretion is the better part of valor, so when the quilt is laundered prior to gifting or prior to using, I use color catchers. My grandfather always said he was a safety man, he used both a belt and suspenders, so like my grandfather, I will play it safe and use color catchers. As to detergents, I don't use any special soaps. I don't launder large quilts in my household washer -- I usually take those to the laundromat and use the extra-large machines. One caution: Most of our fabric today is chemically dyed, and since the dye is not organic, the use of vinegar, baking soda and/or epsom salts just simply doesn't work!