Kare 51

Hi has anyone had the problem of red embroidery thread bleeding? I soaked my redwork piece to remove the wash away stabilizer and the red thread stained my white fabric. Is it totally ruined or is there a way to get the red out? Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks!

Cuttingedge

Try covering it with plain yoghurt. It should draw the dye out.

NJ Quilter

Know nothing about the yogurt, but IMO, everything red bleeds! For future reference, I know of people who have soaked their skein of red embroidery thread to get rid of excess dye before using it. My best advice is to continue soaking, with frequent water changes. I've had great success with that formula.

Tartan

I don't have anysure fire methods for removing the bleed, sorry. I don't use embroidery floss on Red Work anymore. I use DMC Coton Perle. My favourite is #8, colour 321 and it is 100% coton and colorfast. It is made in France which explains the strange spelling. Mine comes on a little round 1,1/2 inch ball for about $4. It gives a nice outline with just 1 strand and is much easier to use. If you want to use embroidery floss (even the good stuff) check it for colourfastness before using it. Take a small wad of it and soak it in hot water. Put the wad onto a white kleenex or papertowel to dry. Inspect the towel after drying and if there is any colour transfer, don't use it. I'm sorry all your hard work is spoiled. You might be able to save your blocks by overdying them pink if you can't remove the bleeds.

auntpiggylpn

Interesting tip!!!

pamabla

I had this same problem recently with a long ago Christmas cross-stitch project, which I love. There was a lot of burgundy floss used and when I tried to gently wash this, all the burgundy bled! I went to the store to look for the color magnet type products, but most had to be used in a washing machine. I stumbled upon a product at Wal-Mart, called Carbonite--it comes in a small box and needs to be mixed with water. I placed my piece in the solution and the bleeding was immediately removed--but it did lighten the color a bit too. But at least the piece still looks good and I was able to salvage it. Good luck.

EmbQuilt

Try oxiclean and a color catcher.

mighty

Thanks for the tips.

NanaCsews2

I made 32 redwork and bluework flour sack towels for giving this past Christmas (daughter and daughter in laws get replacement towels every couple of years). I prewashed all the towels (Aunt Marthas from Hobby Lobby), then embroidered. Then I washed them all and dried them. I wanted to make sure they were 'set' before giving them to make sure there were no issues. Not one of them bled. I used the embroidery thread from ThreadArt. Never had a problem with the thread (I won't rave about their cotton thread-too linty for me) in anything I have embroidered. ThreadArt is the only thread I have used for the redwork so I can't give an opinion on any other brand I have.

BellaBoo

I read an article online about embroidery thread and only one red color of DMC would not bleed. I forgot the number of it. I used Aurifil size 12 for thread for small quilting projects that need a touch of hand embroidery.