Bleeding dye question
 

No doubt this question has been covered before, but please help me out again on this one. I made a baby quilt for a friend who wanted lots of red in the quilt. I pre-washed the red fabric four times with color catchers until the dye no longer ran. Now as I wash the completed quilt with more color catchers, the red once again is bleeding like a stuck pig. If I use Retayne on the quilt, will that permanently prevent bleeding, even through many washings? For several reasons, my friend is not likely to be able to use color catchers each time she washes the quilt. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Try the Retayne. I had one reputable name brand red fabric that would not stopping running. Never did despite all my usual attempts at setting the dye.

So I would try the retayne and then with the next wash sacrifice some white cotton socks or something -- see if there is enough dye left to stain them. If they come out ok, I'd still warn the friend about washing but figure it will be ok.

Good luck, so frustrating... in my quilt gone bad it turned a very sophisticated maroon, blue, and silver with white accents quilt into one that was baby pink instead of white. And to make matters worse, a couple of the squares were apparently cotton/poly blends that didn't take the dye and remained sparkling white.

Be careful because if the fabric hasn't bled out by now it will probably fade all the color away with each washing to stop the bleeding. I have learned my lesson about bleeding fabric. Bleeds twice I'm done with it.

Here's a picture of the bad fabric. The darker one I recognized as being from the same line as mine, and used that as a dark blue in the quilt with no problems. By the time I took this picture, I had already washed it maybe 3 times? It started more clearly maroon. The other side has been washed at least 7 times, and continues to run like a thief in the night. I was keeping track at once, by adding on a safety pin each time I washed but needed the pins!

Ugh, I feel your pain.
I was in a swap on this board and did a lovely Kaffe Fassett fabrics quilt. I used a light border and when I washed
it it ran. Not sure what I can do at this point. And darn it all I had Retayne! Forgot to use it.

Thank you so much, everyone! This afternoon I washed the quilt 3 times with color catchers until they came out barely colored. I suspect what happened is this: unfortunately my washing machine is one of the "low water" ones that does not have a center post -- don't get me started on that whole issue. Even when I use the bedding cycle which is the deepest water, the agitation pattern is so weird that often things will come out of the wash with huge dry spots on them. The manufacturer says the dry spots happen because the washer is so good at spinning out the water. I'm not buying it. I think when I pre-washed the red fabric there were areas that never even got wet. That explains the dye coming out when I wash the finished quilt. At this point it appears the quilt will be fine. WHEW!!

And btw, this fabric is a very good name brand. I am disappointed at how it has performed, in addition to the fact that it has a very heavy, coarse hand. I don't understand that at all.

So much for this evening's kvetch. All ended well.

If you purchased the fabric from a shop, either in person or online, please let the shop know of the problem. I worked at a quilt shop and we reported things like this to our supplier. If they don’t know there is a problem, they can’t fix it. We also alerted customers purchasing fabrics with issues so they could plan accordingly.

A couple of things: The directions on my Retayne bottle say to use HOT water and after treatment, to only use a cool water wash. I put hot water in my sink and thoroughly wet suspect fabric. I can see how much colour is coming out--if any. Yes, it can be a pain with a large piece, but it gives me piece of mind.

For the finished item that has bled, try washing again using Synthrapol (sp?) It keeps the dye particles suspended in the water, so that they don't reattach to the fabric. Remove from the washer immediately and if not using a dryer, keep the fabric in one layer--no folding when wet.

What fabric manufacture and line was this fabric? No need to bash the fabric just info for others to know to be prepared.
I had several yards of older Jenny Beyer deep red fabric and it bled horribly. Also DMC red floss bled when I washed a redwork block. It always pays to take the time and check for bleeding colors.

Believe it or not, it was a Kona solid. I've always liked this line of fabric, but I guess any fabric can have colors that run. The hand of the fabric was also quite stiff, which surprised me. I might use Kona again, but would probably rather see it in person on the bolt first, before purchasing.