Bleedilng Fabric
 

Do you let the store/shop know when you get a bleeder?

If you do, what does the store/shop do about it?


I would think that if enough of the stores/shops start to howl about "problem" fabrics, that the manufacturers might start to do something about them.

I, for one, think that after one washing to get rid of excess dye, that the dyes should be stable and that no further treatment should be necessary by the buyer.

I consider bleeding (unless indicated that it will happen on the end label of the bolt) to be a manufacturing flaw and should be brought to the attention of the shop owners any time it happens.

What the store/shop does with it is up to them, but I would think that they would return it to whoever they purchased it from - and so on up the line.

This, of course, does require that the fabric(s) get wet fairly soon after purchase and that receipts are kept.

I did tell JAF about a fabric that I purchased that really bled, but the salesperson just replied, "Really?" and went on with her cutting. So, so much for that.

Watson

Way back when - Madras plaids and indigo denims had that on the bolt - that the dyes would probably bleed.

Just use color catchers and wash in cold water. i don't complain about small stuff. This is small stuff to me, after first wash I don't see bleeders.

I had a soft gray with white polka dots that came out of the prewash beige with white dots. When I took it back to the LQS, I was told I shouldn't prewash. What? Make the quilt and have it happen when the parents wash the baby quilt? I don't think so. The LQS owners certainly weren't going to contact a manufacturer when it was my fault for washing a 100% cotton from a good line.

That definitely is an event that falls into the "What the ????? " category.

I had that happen to me, too. I was told that I should not have washed a cotton quilting type cloth.

I don't usually make a fuss, but I do when that happens. And the more people around, the better. :hunf:

I do try being nice, first. Idiocy annoys me.

I bought a quilt kit once from an online store. I also bought the backing fabric which was a red. The bleeding looked like a car wreck. I called the company and they gave me store credit for the kit and the backing fabric. I was really impressed with the customer service.

I told them I had washed the finished quilt with color catchers and they did tell me that that isn't best practice. I should have pre-treated the fabric with a dye stabilizers instead.

I think telling the store about a bleeding fabric is a great idea and helpful for the LQS to be able to advise customers purchasing the same fabric. I am not sure how cost effective it would be for them to return bolts of bleeding fabric to suppliers, or how having to do that will increase the cost of fabric for us. As quilters, we do know about the possibility of bleeding and can choose to test and retest the possible offending fabric or choose to not use it at all.
JMO
Dee

I remember the madras plaids. They advertised that they bled. The kids my age back then thought it was really cool and everyone had to have at least a couple of madras shirts. The ads said that they would change colors every time they were washed. They were made in India right after their independence.