sandilee

I brought fabric in a maroon/wine colored plaid, chex and solid. Last night after sewing I noticed my hands were red from the fabric. Today I noticed theres red residue on the armplate of my machine.
Has anyone had this problelm? This is the first time its happened to me. Does this mean its cheap fabric or over dyed?
I did not prewash it. I sure hope it doesn't fade too much.

Tartan

I think it's called flocking and you should do a test for colorfastness. Take a scrap of the fabric and use hot water to wet it. Lay the wet scrap on a piece of white paper towel to dry. If there is colour transfer to the paper towel, you have a bleeder. If it's a bleeder then you have to decide how you are going to address it.

Prism99

Crocking is when there is color transfer from a dry fabric. Bleeding is when there is color transfer from a wet fabric.

Crocking doesn't mean that the fabric is cheap. It can mean that there is excess dye in the fabric that was not rinsed out in the manufacturing process. Fibers can absorb only so much dye. With deep colors, they often over-saturate the fabric so it absorbs as much dye as possible. If the manufacturer doesn't rinse it adequately, there is loose, unset dye (dye particles that the fabric fiber were unable to absorb) in addition to the permanently set dye.

Since you did not prewash the fabric, chances are it will bleed the first time it is washed. Are you planning to use Synthrapol and/or color catchers in the first wash? The risk is that the unset dye particles will settle into other, lighter fabrics, when you wash. Synthrapol used with lots of water keeps the unset dye particles suspended in the water to be rinsed away instead of settling into other fabrics (bleeds).

sandilee

Thanks for the responds. I do feel better as this quilt is going to be a gift. What is a color catcher? Do I purchase it at walmart? I have heard it mentioned here on the board but had no interest in it until now. Do you add it to your wash or rinse cycle? Is Synthrapol the brand name of the color catcher?

Prism99

Synthrapol is a type of liquid soap. I will link to it on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Craft-Synthrap...dp/B000YZ3UHQ/
Some quilt shops carry it, and it is widely available from onlines sites such as DharmaTrading and Pro-Chem.

Synthrapol is stronger than color catchers. Color catchers are pieces of treated paper that you put into the wash to catch vagrant dye particles. I use color catchers whenever I do a load of my dd's black clothing, as black always seems to give off some dye. These are sold in a small box in the laundry section of Walmart, grocery store, etc. Here again is a link to color catchers on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Shout-Catcher-...dp/B0000DIWJF/

In your particular case, I would strongly recommend using both Synthrapol and some color catchers (encased in a mesh bag). Just remember that domestic front-loading washing machines do not use enough water for Synthrapol to be effective. If you have a domestic front-loader, it would be better to do the first wash with Synthrapol at a laundromat. Also, be aware that Synthrapol requires hot water to work.

Lori S

As stated earlier, I STRONGLY recommend sythropol. It is the best assurance you can have of not having the color /bleed and color the other fabrics in the quilt.

bearisgray

I've learned that it's harder to deal with wandering color AFTER the fabrics are cut than before - - -

I've had color wander from inexpensive and expensive fabrics.