Ack! The Red Fabric Bled on The White Background
#1

I always prewash all of my fabrics with color catchers and have never had a bleeder... until now!
I spent months quilting a quilt with lots of red and white fabrics. I had basted it with Elmer's Washable School Glue so I needed to soak it in cold water to get the glue out. When I took it out of the washing machine, I started the blocking process and...
Oh, Calamity! There were red blotches all over the white fabric!
I was in so much of a panic that I didn't take a picture, but take my word for it. It was bad!!!
I did an internet search for a solution and found this from Margaret Solomon Gunn:
https://quiltsoflove.blogspot.com/2016/07/what-to-do-when-your-finished-quilt.html
My bathtub leaks water out quickly so I put my quilt in the washing machine instead. I filled it with hot water and 1/3 cup Dawn Dishwashing Detergent. I let it soak and periodically rearranged the quilt. I was surprised that the water stayed hot the whole time. The water was very pink. After six hours I rinsed it twice and checked to see if there were still red blotches on the white. I would have repeated the process if there were, but there was absolutely no more red on the white fabric.
I feel like I've witnessed a miracle that I should share with you... [insert the Hallelujah Chorus]
I spent months quilting a quilt with lots of red and white fabrics. I had basted it with Elmer's Washable School Glue so I needed to soak it in cold water to get the glue out. When I took it out of the washing machine, I started the blocking process and...
Oh, Calamity! There were red blotches all over the white fabric!
I was in so much of a panic that I didn't take a picture, but take my word for it. It was bad!!!
I did an internet search for a solution and found this from Margaret Solomon Gunn:
https://quiltsoflove.blogspot.com/2016/07/what-to-do-when-your-finished-quilt.html
My bathtub leaks water out quickly so I put my quilt in the washing machine instead. I filled it with hot water and 1/3 cup Dawn Dishwashing Detergent. I let it soak and periodically rearranged the quilt. I was surprised that the water stayed hot the whole time. The water was very pink. After six hours I rinsed it twice and checked to see if there were still red blotches on the white. I would have repeated the process if there were, but there was absolutely no more red on the white fabric.
I feel like I've witnessed a miracle that I should share with you... [insert the Hallelujah Chorus]
#4

I have been going to try this on a quilt that I did pretty much the same thing. I used color catchers on the reds before using them. Used the fabric in a paper pieced quilt and the red bled through to the back of the white backing! This is hope for one of my favorite quilts. Thanks for sharing.
#5
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
Posts: 5,622

I am so happy you were able to rescue your quilt!
The one bad experience I had was so bad all the white in the quilt turned baby pink... it was a very bad fabric. I refused to use pure white fabric for a long time after that but I'm very careful now in checking but even still sometimes bad things happen.
I'm a big believer in Dawn dish soap. It works so well with so many things.
BTW, I had some modern all red flannel which is usually pretty stable, but it "crocked" that is, dye transferred onto the white background print it was next to. These were pieces I bought at an after Christmas sale and just stored for awhile. Now if I don't have time to prewash and if there is anything I'm really suspicious about (for me that's reds and dark blues), I'll wrap it in a piece of the acid free tissue paper I have in my sewing room.
The one bad experience I had was so bad all the white in the quilt turned baby pink... it was a very bad fabric. I refused to use pure white fabric for a long time after that but I'm very careful now in checking but even still sometimes bad things happen.
I'm a big believer in Dawn dish soap. It works so well with so many things.
BTW, I had some modern all red flannel which is usually pretty stable, but it "crocked" that is, dye transferred onto the white background print it was next to. These were pieces I bought at an after Christmas sale and just stored for awhile. Now if I don't have time to prewash and if there is anything I'm really suspicious about (for me that's reds and dark blues), I'll wrap it in a piece of the acid free tissue paper I have in my sewing room.
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