Irishrose2

It's not small stuff to me when I pay LQS prices for a fabric to go in a quilt for a new family member. Earthshaking, no. Worth losing sleep over, no, but neither is it small stuff.

yolajean

I bought 6 yards of a red fabric. I laundered it at lest 6 times and could not get it to stop bleeding. I still have that yardage but have not used it yet. I am going to make a "comforter" (sheet or fabric on both sides with polyester batting and then tying. I will use the same fabric on both sides and let it bleed. It was costly and I am much more careful than I was in those days.

copycat

Yes, I had a red fabric from the Moda line, that was a bleeder, that I purchased at my local quilt shop. I soaked and washed it 5 times until it stopped. I let the quilt shop owner know that this red fabric was a bleeder. She replied that red fabrics can do that sometimes.

bearisgray

A Moda fabric from a Local Quilt Shop that bled? Can't be!

It's a Moda - a "good quality" line
It was purchased at a Local Quilt Shop

Snort!!!!!!!!!

Just the idea of having to "treat" commercially dyed fabrics with something more to keep them color-fast just ticks me off.

(I know it's not as serious a problem as world hunger, etc. etc. etc. - but, to me, it's in the category of an avoidable nuisance.)

I think the least the manufacturers could do, would be to put a warning/advisory line on the bolt end saying that - for whatever reason - "this fabric may bleed - pretreating with Retayne (or whatever) may minimize the problem".

I know that there are new regulations about what dyes can (or should) be used in the US. But what about the rest of the world?

As far as that goes, are Retayne and Synthropol "user friendly"?

Sew Freak

I don't understand why when I buy fabrics that have a print with red....black....navy....they don't bleed. So why should we be expected to have to purchase other products to aid in controlling the bleed issue?

Jeanette Frantz

I know it's frustrating, but it's unfortunately a cost of using a particular color. I love red. Yes, I've purchased high-end cotton fabric (red) and yes, it did bleed when I tested it. I treated it with the product I use to set dyes and re-tested it. It no longer bled, problem solved. Unfortunately, that's the problem with which we are faced. I pre-wash because of the chemicals which might precipitate an asthma attack, and because I won't risk shrinkage. I also won't risk working with fabrics which could have almost anything wiped on them -- not an acceptable risk.

greaterexp

A friend and I bought identical fabrics for a project. She washed one white fabric that had tiny red stars on it. The red from the stars ran badly, ruining the fabric. She then tried removing the excess dye with a commercial excess dye remember vet. The pink was gone from the white part, but the red stars turned orange. After hearing of her experience, I used Retayne and, fortunately, had no problem. She informed the shop where we bought the fabric, but only got a shrug of the shoulders.