Jane Quilter

I have to tell you , I am scared to put this in the tub at the "hottest water from your tap" per Margaret Gunn at her bleed blog http://quiltsoflove.blogspot.com/201...hed-quilt.html. I pre soaked all my reds in cold water, but not hot water. If I hit it with hot, they might all crazy bleed. Lets have a vote on what my next step should be. My next entry will show pics of front and back. I am happy with front, and dont want to make it worse. But the back has too many pink spots and white (bleach from all my chemicals?).

slbram17

Thanks for posting that link. I saw it mentioned it above but had no clue where I needed to go to find out the referenced blog.

If you get this worked out, you need to start your blog of all the actions you have taken. Wishing you the best of luck.

Peckish

If you're happy with the front, then just leave the back as it is. How many people really even bother to look at the back anyway (other than fellow quilters, who would simply sympathize)?

Jane Quilter

That is what my hubby said when he was helping me lay out the quilt for pictures.

zozee

If it were me, I'd soak it in a tub of vinegar, water, and mild laundry detergent. Why? Because my LQS owner gave me the Amish "recipe" for homemade "color catcher" solution . It's those three ingredients. I'm not sure what proportions for such a large quilt, but supposedly the vinegar that sets color. I don't understand the science, but the solution works when I don't have storebought Color Catchers.

Jane Quilter

Here it is...the blue is gone....red is bleed on the wiggly white and red stripe fabric:

Jane Quilter

Here is the back. Again the blue is gone, but some reds have bled, and some bright white (bleached? from oxyclean?) the extra white spots are sunlight )

Jane Quilter

hard to see the entire quilt:

Genden

Beautiful quilt. It may be time to say "good enough" and enjoy it. I love your color and fabric selection. You have done a great job with the piecing; the points look perfect. Your hand quilting just sets it off. Enjoy the quilt on your bed. Soon you won't even be bothered by the bleeding reds and the bleaching on the back. And don't tell anyone they are there and they won't know.

Peckish

As has been pointed out here in other threads, the vinegar doesn't work to set synthetic colors anymore. It was used back in the day when most fabric dyes were vegetable or organic based.

However, soaking fabric in a tub of hot water and a drop of detergent is how I bleed my fabrics before I use them. I let them sit overnight, then rinse and dry.