Batiks are by far my favorite. No problems here, of course I don't hand quilt.
klgreene, those quilts are beautiful. You could send that second one to me if no one else wants it. Ha!

Thanks Lori S! I will follow your instructions and wash, wash, treat the material before I start my next project. The material I have washed/treated in the past has been nicer to work with than not. Our quilt guild just finished a king sized quilt for the Georgia Quilt Museum and it was constructed mostly with donated batiks. Since we are from Cherokee County it incorporated the Trail of Tears and Cherokee Rose pattern plus an appliqued picture of a historical building in our county. It will be sent around the state for many months and finally be hung with other guilds' quilts at the Georgia State Capitol then later in the museum. This was a good experience for our 60 member guild. JC

If you use washable Elmer's school glue, you can glue your appliques down and then stitch them. The glue holds them until the first wash, when it dissolves and goes down the drain. I love washable glue. I use it a lot.

Did some say "BATIKS"???? LOL I LOVE BATIKS!!!!! My favorite kind of fabric. I've also never had a problem with bleeding and I always aways pre-wash "ALL" of my fabrics before cutting. I use have also learned earlier this year to put a sheet of "Color Catcher made by Shout" in the washing machine. It helps prevent the bleeding of the colors.

BATIKS :thumbup: :thumbup: BATIKS

I am glad I started this topic, and very grateful for all the information shared by everyone. I am definitely looking forward to doing a quilt with batiks now; but not before purchasing some Retayne....I already have the Shout color catcher sheets. Will also make sure to use a sharp needle on my machine. Thanks everyone!
Nancy

I love working with batiks and have handquilted with no problems.

I love batiks for piecing, but do not like them for applique,because the fabric is so finely woven, the applique stitches will not readily bury themselves.

I only use batiks for hand applique and quilting and I don't have a problem.

I've never washed them first and they don't run when I washed the finished quilt. True batiks are made by putting the design on plain muslin fabric with stamps and hot wax. Then they are dyed. To get the wax off, they are boiled. No need to wash first or twice. If your fabric is bleeding and you have to wash it twice, it isn't a real bali batik.

I love Batiks! No cons here!

Thanks for the info. I just started quilting in Feb. 2010 and just bought some batik fabric. What is Retayne and where can I get it?
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