AFTER the bleeding :(
 

OK...I have done a search and read several threads about pre-washing, Retayne, and Synthrapol....But what about if the bleeding already happened? Ugh. Blue onto a white-on-white.

Back story: this was a block exchange I participated in 16 years ago. May never do one again...can't be sure about fabric quality, sewing quality, and certainly not block size. Quilt is put together, quilted by LAQ, bound, and I washed it....ugh. Bleeding on one block from blue to white.

Mind you, I am not a die-hard pre-washer. But I buy good quality fabric. But not sure if I could have pre-washed the pieced blocks I received in the exchange.

Ugh. Any ideas to get the blue out? It was to be a donation quilt for wounded warriors or soldier's families. :(

I will be watching this thread for answers because this has happened to me as well. I am so sorry about your quilt and I hope that you can get the bleed out. Gina

Did you already dry it? I hope not. I use color catchers when I wash new quilts and clothes. There are a couple of brands out there.

I just did one that bled a bit and I had 2 or 3 color catchers in it. It was a gift, so I hoped I could get it out. I rewashed it with a few more color catchers and it came out. I know the products you mentioned are recommended, but I don't know which to use when.

By the way, even good fabric bleeds...which is one reason I pre-wash whenever I can.

If you didn't dry it use Synthrapol and color catchers. If is is already dried the dye is probably set

It got dried before I noticed it. Did not use any products other than mild detergent with the first wash, then it was dried, then I washed again. :( It actually looks worse after the 2nd wash. crud. I didn't put all that work and money (LAQ) into this to throw it away. But I hate to donate it with the bad block. Mind you, just one block out of 50 bled. So any of you who participate in an exchange...wash your fabric and don't pass along problems to someone else! :(

I had one fabric that was a red & white so I knew it had to be washed first. Took it out and put it in the dryer before my mom noticed it had bled. We washed it again about 6 times with color catchers before it finally came out, but it did come out.

If they are older fabrics, the bleeding may wash out with a cup of vinegar.

is there a way to applique a new block over the original. then, of course, you'd have to duplicate the quilting.

synthropol keeps dyes suspended in the water- so they don't 'bleed' onto other fabrics- so wash with synthropol- color catchers help grab the dye too...but the synthropol should help you to wash away the fugitive dye & keep it from getting on other parts of the quilt- it is important to follow the instructions- and don't dry (or heat-set) the dyes before you have removed all the fugitive dye. you may be able to (pre-treat) the area that is 'stained' by using a product just on that section (like shout or oxyclean) ... color catchers work well too if you can't find synthropol-

I agree with QuiltnNan, applique to the rescue. You may have to add some applique to several blocks to balance the look, but do not give up on the quilt.

Geez. I thought you were bleeding from a rotary cutter accident

Oh, no....did that 2 years ago. 3 stitches. LOL

I'll keep working with it. With the LAQ, any large applique would be difficult. If I can't spot-clean it and reduce it, I may try a bit of embroidery over it.
Thanks for all the input. Should have used a color catcher, but I didn't. I will for my next quilt that was also a block exchange and has bright blue near white. :)

Try WINK stain remover. It is expensive and hard to find but it got grape juice out of my daughters quilt- even after it was dried.

I highly recommend the Shout Color Catchers! I had a red/white table runner that was a mess! Re washed with 3 color catchers not a spot of red on the white!!

Synthrapol should remove the bleed even if it has dried. Most dyes used commercially these days are set chemically, not by heat. Synthrapol does require lots of hot water, and you might have to use it several times, but I have seen it work to remove bleeds. Just be aware that domestic front loaders do not use enough water; you really need either a domestic top-loader or a laundromat front-loader to get enough water and the water needs to be HOT.

I'd soak just the offending area in Oxiclean and then wash it with Color Catchers.

I once had a red blouse bleed onto other laundry. Liquid Clorox 2 used as a pre-treatment removed it. Could be worth a try.

Just saw a product in the supermarket the other day that seemed to be for this problem specifically. I didn't take note of the name but will check it out over the weekend.

If you haven't dried it, wash in warm water, detergent and ammonia.

I am so sorry this happened to you; that's a sinking feeling when you discover a bleed!!! A similar incident with hunter green/cream fabrics turned me into a rabid pre-washer. Others have mentioned using the best fabrics---here is a photo of a tub of water used to pre-soak black MODA fabric.

Good luck in your efforts to remove the bleed, and be sure to let us know the outcome!

Reading suggestions...and all good but did NOT work for me...I used blue chalk pounce and it did NOT come out. The company making the pounce/chalk suggested using vinegar which set the blue dye even more on my white quilt...ugh! She had me send the chalk and pounce back and never even replaced the $13 pounce. Tacky, at best.
I tried EVERYTHING...Synthropol, Retayne, Grandmas Stain remover, etc, etc.. Got a nod from a quilt restorer on what would work
WHAT WORKED: Washed in oxyiclean and did not rinse well, put some oxyiclean light paste that I made up over the worst of the areas, then put is out in the sun on thick grass...some air underneath... several hours....then washed again and did not machine dry. I did this a couple of times and it was almost completely out. Then I started using it (instead of a wall hanging) as a table cloth on my breakfast table and found that after several more washings (no heat dry), the blue chalk from the pounce was completely gone... I can now machine dry.

how about a color catcher?

If all else fails, rather than applique over it, what about taking fabric markers and turn the stained fabric into a print. Use a fabric marker of a similar color as the stain and make something simple like three dots in a triangle shape (one dot on each point of an imaginary triangle) scattered over the patch. The stain can then become part of the fabric. And it if washes out over time, the dots won't look like a mistake. I love fabric markers for covering up boo-boos! :-)

OMG...it keeps going from bad to worse! I turned the quilt over (the back is red/white/blue broad stripes with stars) and there are several areas (not just from the one bad block) where stuff bled through to the back! Will prob never do a block exchange again! I got some of the blue bleed out of the front with Oxi-Clean, and am going to try to wash again with a color catcher.

I think the ultimate solution is going to be....since I have 2 similar quilts, but the other didn't have the bleeding issues (50 states block exchange--25 blocks in each quilt) ...is to take the label off of the other non-bleeder, and donate that one. Then put the label on the bled quilt and give it to my friend, who hopefully will understand the imperfections. He isn't expecting a quilt gift anyway, and hopefully will appreciate the gesture, rather than my donating a damaged quilt.
:(

I, too, am a fan of Oxyclean.

Have you tried one of those stain/bleach pens? Try the pen on a similar fabric (scrap color and white) that has bled. Lay it on a small screen such as a sweater screen placed over a sink or bathtub. Take a little conditioner(yes hair) and apply to the color edge. Use the pen on the white or lighter color, let set(or it may start working immediately). Depending how it starts to work then rinse with warm water while it is laying flat on the screen. Yes I did say hair conditioner. I've also seen Dawn dish soap wash it right out. The reason for the screen is when you rinse with water, it goes down through the screen, if you try on a towel it can bleed again and there would be telltale color left. I wash everything I bring home. Goes straight into the washer on warm water and regular cycle. Prints with white get color catchers. I've seen colors bleed on prints with light to white in the same fabric. Would be one thing if the lighter would be totally but when it's haphazard and looks more like a stain, that bites.

This is the number one reason I'll never own a front loader washer. They simply do not use enough water in the wash to float away excess dyes.

I treated a few areas with a bleach pen, then am washing again with color catchers. Will report back. I also found a product called Carbona...supposed to remove color-run stains? Though I hate to go from worse to completely ruined!

I had red and white fabric that bled when I was prewashing a full load - it came out pink and red - used color catchers - be sure to follow the instructions - it all came out!

I have a cousin who swears she can get anything out by making a paste with oxiclean and water and applying it directly to the problem area before washing. Couldn't hurt.

Did I not JUST SAY I didn't want to go from worse to ruined? The color grabbers and bleach pen helped a little (and the pen took out some extra color, but not too bad) and then I tried the Carbona anyway?! It started pulling dye from the fabrics like crazy. No, not just the stains. The nice deep red in some of the stripes on the back, etc. OMFG! :mad: I whisked it out of the sink and into the washer with more color grabbers. My poor friend is going to get a quilt that will need to stay folded. Or else he doesn't get one. I'd cry if I weren't so aggravated.

I am so sorry you are having to deal with this. This is why I always prewash all my fabrics. And don't do exchanges anymore.Hopefully the color grabbers will pick up some more of the dyes. I am sure the quilt will still be warm and useful for your friend, just tell him it is tye-dyed.

The Carbona ruined it. :( And I think it got to too much area of the quilt to even just cut it off. I should have known better. Like the saying goes, "The opposite of good is better." I'm going to be polite and not type the words I am thinking. I have never had this happen in any quilt, ever. The crying will happen later, I think. Or wine. Now just dumbfounded shock.

I remember my mom using Vinegar to set colors. Does this apply to quilting fabrics etc and would you apply vinegar to rinse cycle?

Vinegar was used to set some organic dyes. It does not work on the type of dyes used commercially these days. It won't hurt fabric, but it really does not do anything for the fabric.

Rit (like the fabric dye you can buy in the grocery store) makes a product to remove color that has bled onto other colors. You can find it next to the bottles of dye. I used it once years ago to remove red that had bled onto the white stripes of a cotton top. It worked well for that. I can't say how it might work on a quilt, but if all else fails, that might be an option to look into.

It's over. About a 2 x 3 block (maybe 30 x 45 inches) section of the quilt is ruined--imagine if you threw battery acid on it. Not sure if anyone would have a use for a 39 x 70" quilt....maybe as a lap quilt? That is the only option...cutting off the bad part to make a rectangle again, and re-binding. I am not in love with this project enough to go back and piece a bunch of squares, try to fit them back on, re-do quilting, etc. What kills me is the money I put into having it quilted is gone. (less worried about my time, and I bought all supplies in the late 90's).

Which leaves me with the dilemma of....who gets the good quilt of the pair? My friend or the Wounded Warriors? I'm so bummed. and mad at myself. :(

Oh my word. What a ghastly thing to happen to your hard work.

Seems to me no reason to be mad at yourself? You tried your best to fix something that was not fixable, alas :( .

If your friend needs a quilt and the good one is suitable, I would gift it to your friend. If not suited to your friend, then WW. And whoever doesn't get the good quilt can wait until you have time and inclination to make another that is just right.

Perhaps the non-bleeding parts of the other could be rebound and gifted to a local animal shelter?

I'm so sorry things turned out this way! I agree with toolazy, give the surviving quilt to your friend. Perhaps the damaged quilt could be re-fashioned into a table runner or other item. I can see why you are hesitant to participate in a block exchange again. What a disappointment.