Go Back  Quiltingboard Forums > Main
Batiks... >

Batiks...

Batiks...

Thread Tools
 
Old 04-17-2013, 09:45 AM
  #31  
Power Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Lowell, MA
Posts: 14,083
Default

I'm afraid I belong to the wash it before you use it club. I will add fabric to my laundry to wash and if I don't have a full load, I wash and rinse the fabric in the sink. I've been surprised when some of the darker fabrics did not bleed, but there was one medium green that I had to wash out 3-4 times because it bled so much and it was from a LQS, so you never know.
MargeD is offline  
Old 04-17-2013, 09:59 AM
  #32  
Super Member
 
ghostrider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 4,688
Default

Originally Posted by quilt queen View Post
somewhere in the back of my mind, I remember my Mother using vinegar to cut bleeding in fabric.. have any of you heard this and does it work? I would like to have a "home" product to stop the bleedingirather than purchasing a new product...I like spending my money for fabric..can anyone relate to this way of thinking???
Fabrics were dyed with acid dye in your (our) mother's day and vinegar did work at that time. Today's fabrics are dyed with fiber-reactive dyes and vinegar has absolutely no effect at all on them. Neither does salt. It is chemically impossible for them to work. Sorry.
ghostrider is offline  
Old 04-17-2013, 11:59 AM
  #33  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 326
Default

I have had fairly good luck with batiks. I use the color catchers tho when I wash.
MadP is offline  
Old 04-17-2013, 01:37 PM
  #34  
Super Member
 
caspharm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Nevada
Posts: 6,958
Default

I don't usually prewash my fabrics. I just use color catchers when I wash them and it works well.
caspharm is offline  
Old 04-17-2013, 02:59 PM
  #35  
Super Member
 
meanmom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Fairfield, OH
Posts: 3,694
Default

I never pre wash and I use mostly Batiks. If I remember I throw in a couple of color catchers. So far everything has been fine.
meanmom is offline  
Old 04-17-2013, 06:23 PM
  #36  
Member
 
nuevaquilter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: S. Jamesport, NY
Posts: 74
Default

Originally Posted by Knitette View Post
My name is ****** and I'm NOT a pre-washer.......

However, I was top stitching a bright orange batik bag handle and looked down at my machine to see some of the dye had come off onto my machine. I'd used the same fabric for the lining and some of the bag panel was very light blue . I carried on and completed the bag and put it in the washer with 3 colour-catcher sheets. The orange faded a little, but didn't bleed on to the other colours.

Still don't pre-wash.
Interesting, I've only had one fabric discolor my machine. And it wasn't a batik, it was a seasonal (harvest) print from Jo-Ann Fabrics. It was the orange that rubbed off. The quilt is a UFO and hasn't been washed yet. Color-catchers ready and waiting!
nuevaquilter is offline  
Old 04-17-2013, 08:32 PM
  #37  
Super Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Southeast Georgia
Posts: 2,526
Default

I prewash all of my new fabrics simply because I never know what is going to go with what. If one piece shrinks 3% and another shrinks 5%, my quilt block becomes wonky. I also want to make sure nothing bleeds. It's amazing what color catchers catch!
MimiBug123 is offline  
Old 04-19-2013, 09:59 AM
  #38  
Super Member
 
MacThayer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Nevada
Posts: 1,103
Default

Originally Posted by ghostrider View Post
Fabrics were dyed with acid dye in your (our) mother's day and vinegar did work at that time. Today's fabrics are dyed with fiber-reactive dyes and vinegar has absolutely no effect at all on them. Neither does salt. It is chemically impossible for them to work. Sorry.
It's true that vinegar (or salt) no longer works on the colors in fabric. However, if you want to make sure a quilt is washed clean of soap (soap attracts dust/dirt, and makes the quilt get dirtier faster) add a cup of white vinegar to the rinse water. Also, you aren't supposed to use fabric softener on a quilt for the same reason; it attracts dust/dirt etc. But the vinegar will act as a natural fabric softener. If I'm washing a quilt, I will often do 1 rinse with vinegar, and then another with just water. Probably overkill, but it helps here in the desert with all the dust around.
MacThayer is offline  
Old 04-19-2013, 10:03 AM
  #39  
Super Member
 
mom-6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 6,395
Default

I've not had problems with my batiks. They have been of all sorts from WM jelly rolls to very nice LQS yardage. Not to say the next one I come across might not give me fits. Lol! Now every piece of denim fabric or clothing I've ever had is another story entirely. . .
mom-6 is offline  
Old 04-20-2013, 03:55 AM
  #40  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Richmond, VA
Posts: 601
Default

I was firmly in the no-pre-wash camp, mostly because I think limp fabric is much harder to work with. But I decided to wash my batiks (took 3 afternoons with the ironing), and something in the orange/gold range bled on each of the washloads. I did use a color catcher, but stopped at just the one warm wash/rinse cycle. The good ones ironed up pretty much like new. I never expect a finely woven fabric to shrink, and this has been my experience. The cruder, heavier batiks will shrink like any other loosly woven fabric.
Lee in Richmond is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
AngelinaMaria
Main
20
05-29-2012 10:01 AM
luvTooQuilt
Member Swaps and Round/Row Robins
318
04-30-2012 09:27 PM
debbieumphress
Pictures
112
05-16-2011 07:17 PM
just_the_scraps_m'am
Links and Resources
1
03-26-2010 11:12 PM
annmarie
Links and Resources
2
03-14-2008 08:40 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



FREE Quilting Newsletter