Jeanette Frantz

I prewash everything, every single piece of fabric. Like bear said, there are bleeders in every color in the rainbow. I found a product which "sets" the dye in every color in the rainbow. While I don't make large numbers of quilts, it is all the more important that the ones I do make do not end up bleeding all over themselves and anything else that it might come in contact with. First, I "test" every colored fabric, no matter -- from the deepest reds all the way to the deepest browns and blacks. I live on a tight budget, so I can't afford to have a quilt ruined or throw fabric in the trash. That being said, I don't sell quilts - I make them with love for various family members. I have had a lot of success with this product -- not one single fabric I've treated has ever again been guilty of bleeding. I won't mention the name of the product -- I don't want to be a walking commercial for the product. I have no financial interest or any interest of any kind. The product was, I gather (I could be wrong) intended to set the dyes on hand-painted fabrics. I used it to set the dyes in the red and while log cabin which is pictured in my avatar. I re-tested every piece of fabric in it for color-fastness of the various shades of red, and not a one of them exhibited any further bleeding. The primary reason I prewash all my fabrics is due to asthma that has become a thorn in my backside in my later years. But, since I have to pre-wash and treat the reds and other colors, I prewash the whites as well, separate from any other colors. I'll be glad to provide any of you interested in the name of the product if you will send me a pm. Just know I'm not selling this product, I'm a user, and I won't make a quilt without testing the fabrics for color-fastness. Also, discretion is the better part of valor. I ALWAYS use color catchers in the wash with my quilts.

Edit: I do not buy quilt kits, or any pre-cut fabrics, so that's another issue for which I don't have an answer, except that I do not buy them for that reason.