Any questions for the fabric sales rep?
04-02-2011, 07:19 AM
#31
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Western Nevada
Posts: 2,520
Originally Posted by Gabs
This is the "elephant in the room" question,but I know a lot of people are concerned about where the fabric will be coming from. I am stash building right now. I won't buy much fabric in the near future because I, like a lot of others, are concerned about the radiation contamination in Japan. I know some of Moda's marbles are made in Japan, as well as Lecien. Don't know about some of the others. Do you know where RJR,and others are printed and processed, etc?
First, there's no danger of contaminated fabric from radiation, from anywhere. The amount of radiation you're likely to get from any product coming from Japan is no higher than what you get every day from watching TV, or just sitting in your house doing nothing. That's the science, you can look it up.
Second, if there WERE danger from contamination, and since most of the fabric production in Japan is done at the other end of the country from where the problems were, and since the prevailing wind is from the west, you would be more likely to get contamination from stuff coming from places downwind of Japan, like Indonesia, Korea or California, than from Japan itself, IF there were a danger. There ISN'T!!!
PLEASE don't contribute to unfounded rumors. The Japanese people have enough problems as it is, they don't need their fabric industry ruined by uneducated rumors and speculation.
04-02-2011, 07:35 AM
#32
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Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Orchard Park, NY (near Buffalo, which is near Niagara Falls)
Posts: 3,884
Originally Posted by jgriinke
I am searching for fabric with BMX type or any kind of bikecycles on it. I have a DGS that is into BMX racing and would love to find fabric to make at least a pillowcase or maybe a quilt with.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
04-02-2011, 07:48 AM
#33
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Western Nevada
Posts: 2,520
Originally Posted by Lori S
Yes , I have one that no one ever seems to give a good answer ... Why can they not make batiks fabric that does not run or bleed? The 1895 types are the worst at bleeding. Some others not so much . My biggest concern is that some do not start the bleeding right away , probaly becasue there is still a bit of the resist still in the fabric , so sometimes once the soap has started to remove that bit of resist that remains , then its starts to bleed.
I have put batiks in the sink and at first it may seem all is good but if left overnight the true bleeding is revealed.
If they can sell a product ( Retayne to stop the bleeding) why can they not stop it when its made. I understand its one more process, but I would think that a particular manifacure whould have a stratigic market edge , if they could market a true "no bleed batik".
Well I guess I have two questions... Why are two color fabrics priced as much as fabrics that have as many as twenty colors? I have pruchased spectacular screened prints with sometimes as many as 25 screen colors.. and they can cost the same as the two or three color prints?!!!! Is it cost averaging on the manufactures part?
Well I guess there is a third ... can't they come up with some way to identify a batik fabric. Regular fabrics have the salvedge that we come to rely on. I understand that the process for batiks is so different , but there must be some way a manufacture can find to be able to even identify who made it .. having more info as to the line, design, ect would be a huge bonus. It is impossible sometimes to tell even in the 1895 types which exact one you have. One of the great features of that type is that you can can darn close to the same ... if you know what the number is from when you purchase it.
Well that was more questions than I thought when I started this!!!
I have put batiks in the sink and at first it may seem all is good but if left overnight the true bleeding is revealed.
If they can sell a product ( Retayne to stop the bleeding) why can they not stop it when its made. I understand its one more process, but I would think that a particular manifacure whould have a stratigic market edge , if they could market a true "no bleed batik".
Well I guess I have two questions... Why are two color fabrics priced as much as fabrics that have as many as twenty colors? I have pruchased spectacular screened prints with sometimes as many as 25 screen colors.. and they can cost the same as the two or three color prints?!!!! Is it cost averaging on the manufactures part?
Well I guess there is a third ... can't they come up with some way to identify a batik fabric. Regular fabrics have the salvedge that we come to rely on. I understand that the process for batiks is so different , but there must be some way a manufacture can find to be able to even identify who made it .. having more info as to the line, design, ect would be a huge bonus. It is impossible sometimes to tell even in the 1895 types which exact one you have. One of the great features of that type is that you can can darn close to the same ... if you know what the number is from when you purchase it.
Well that was more questions than I thought when I started this!!!
All of these are hand-dyed, the batiks have an extra step or two added wherein a "chop" is used to imprint a pattern feature onto the fabric using a wax resistor that forms the pattern during hand dyeing. The "chop" is sort of like a big rubber stamp, only it's not rubber. All hand-dyes and batiks are hand-made in usually small cottage-industry type settings.
The Hoffman 1895's are technically hand-dyes, not batiks, as they don't have a "chop" pattern. Think 1960's tie-dyeing and you're pretty close to how they're made.
Batiks are stretched on frames and made a section at a time. They're not screen printed or printed on rotary presses. They do have a hardened "selvedge" edge to allow mounting with pins on frames however. If you look closely at your batik or hand-dye fabric you'll see this hardened "selvedge edge and pinholes where the mounting pins were. Since this edge is used to manually mount the fabric on frames for imprinting, it isn't possible to print a fabric information strip on the fabric like it is with rotary press-printed fabrics. That and the fact that it would be very labor-intensive to do it, without any added benefit to the manufacturer.
To obtain replacement fabric, you'll need both the fabric pattern number and the color number. This is usually expressed in a two part number, example: Hoffman California 1895-42, which would be pattern 1895 and color 42 (primrose).
Since most fabrics only have the pattern number, and not the color number printed on the selvedge edge., you don't have full information there anyway that you can use later in finding more of the fabric. We suggest you keep a notebook showing the full fabric information, maker, pattern number and color number, along with a small sample for each fabric you buy that you would conceivably need more of later.
I guess the answer to your first question, about bleeding, is this; Since making hand-dyes and batiks is a cottage industry, very labor intensive, the investment in pre-washing and/or pre-treating those fabrics would be substantial. The chemicals involved in regular fabric printing to do this on a large-scale basis need special handling and expensive equipment, which your small family cottage industry isn't going to have access to.
Would you be prepared to pay an additional several dollars a yard for batiks and hand-dyes that are prewashed and/or pre-treated to prevent bleed? Or would you rather do it yourself?
04-02-2011, 08:01 AM
#34
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Maine-ly Florida
Posts: 3,917
Originally Posted by QKO
Originally Posted by Gabs
This is the "elephant in the room" question,but I know a lot of people are concerned about where the fabric will be coming from. I am stash building right now. I won't buy much fabric in the near future because I, like a lot of others, are concerned about the radiation contamination in Japan. I know some of Moda's marbles are made in Japan, as well as Lecien. Don't know about some of the others. Do you know where RJR,and others are printed and processed, etc?
First, there's no danger of contaminated fabric from radiation, from anywhere. The amount of radiation you're likely to get from any product coming from Japan is no higher than what you get every day from watching TV, or just sitting in your house doing nothing. That's the science, you can look it up.
Second, if there WERE danger from contamination, and since most of the fabric production in Japan is done at the other end of the country from where the problems were, and since the prevailing wind is from the west, you would be more likely to get contamination from stuff coming from places downwind of Japan, like Indonesia, Korea or California, than from Japan itself, IF there were a danger. There ISN'T!!!
PLEASE don't contribute to unfounded rumors. The Japanese people have enough problems as it is, they don't need their fabric industry ruined by uneducated rumors and speculation.
04-02-2011, 08:45 AM
#36
Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Centralia, WA
Posts: 28
This is a needle in a haystack question for the rep. I am trying to locate a fabric that is modish in style and has a pink background with almost a life size black rose silhouette, stem and all. I saw it a during a shop hop last summer and I meant to go back an purchase some, but that never happened. Of course when I stopped at the store a few months ago, it was gone and the staff couldn't recall it. Thank you.
04-02-2011, 09:19 AM
#37
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 601
Ditto the thanks, from a chemistry professor.
Radiation contamination? This is a non-issue, another example of bogus science and press stupidity out there scaring people to death.
First, there's no danger of contaminated fabric from radiation, from anywhere. The amount of radiation you're likely to get from any product coming from Japan is no higher than what you get every day from watching TV, or just sitting in your house doing nothing. That's the science, you can look it up.
Second, if there WERE danger from contamination, and since most of the fabric production in Japan is done at the other end of the country from where the problems were, and since the prevailing wind is from the west, you would be more likely to get contamination from stuff coming from places downwind of Japan, like Indonesia, Korea or California, than from Japan itself, IF there were a danger. There ISN'T!!!
PLEASE don't contribute to unfounded rumors. The Japanese people have enough problems as it is, they don't need their fabric industry ruined by uneducated rumors and speculation.
As someone married to a biology teacher, thank you.
Originally Posted by lots2do
Originally Posted by QKO
Originally Posted by Gabs
This is the "elephant in the room" question,but I know a lot of people are concerned about where the fabric will be coming from. I am stash building right now. I won't buy much fabric in the near future because I, like a lot of others, are concerned about the radiation contamination in Japan. I know some of Moda's marbles are made in Japan, as well as Lecien. Don't know about some of the others. Do you know where RJR,and others are printed and processed, etc?
First, there's no danger of contaminated fabric from radiation, from anywhere. The amount of radiation you're likely to get from any product coming from Japan is no higher than what you get every day from watching TV, or just sitting in your house doing nothing. That's the science, you can look it up.
Second, if there WERE danger from contamination, and since most of the fabric production in Japan is done at the other end of the country from where the problems were, and since the prevailing wind is from the west, you would be more likely to get contamination from stuff coming from places downwind of Japan, like Indonesia, Korea or California, than from Japan itself, IF there were a danger. There ISN'T!!!
PLEASE don't contribute to unfounded rumors. The Japanese people have enough problems as it is, they don't need their fabric industry ruined by uneducated rumors and speculation.
04-02-2011, 09:25 AM
#38
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 601
A google search for pagan symbols will show tons of options, but I particularly like the triple moon, triskele, wheel of the year, and pentogram. The only celestial fabric I've seen has been rather, ahem, loud. Not really my kind of thing. I prefer more subtlety in my designs. I wish their was some that perhaps showed constellations, but not in a cartoonish manner.
What would the motifs be? Other than stars and moons...?
Originally Posted by Favorite Fabrics
Originally Posted by Mattee
I have to second the request for pagan fabrics. I've never found any either.
04-02-2011, 10:30 AM
#39
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Some where in way out West Texas
Posts: 3,041
Originally Posted by Favorite Fabrics
One of my favorite reps is stopping by on Monday.
Does anyone have a question that they would like me to ask the rep? I'd be happy to try to get an answer for you.
Does anyone have a question that they would like me to ask the rep? I'd be happy to try to get an answer for you.
04-02-2011, 10:52 AM
#40
Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 5
I have a question about Novelty Fabrics, this might be on another post, but can you tell how the manufacturer or artists put the images on the fabric? screen painting, weaving, painting? How long does the manufacturer print the fabric? one year, six months, popular demand, are the fabrics milled in the US? overseas, Japan, Bali, China, etc.
I am doing a demonstration about Novelty Fabrics May 7 for my quilt guild, if you can share anything about Novelty fabrics, please drop a line.
Thanks a Million!!!!!
I am doing a demonstration about Novelty Fabrics May 7 for my quilt guild, if you can share anything about Novelty fabrics, please drop a line.
Thanks a Million!!!!!
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