bleeding fabric?
 

I have some red and black buffalo plaid flannel from JoAnn's fabric. I have washed it 3 times with a color catcher, then dried it, then washed again with 2 color catchers-they look the same as the first 3-RRREDDD. I know there is something to put in the wash to stop this, but can't remember what it is called. Can anyone help me? Or should I just throw it away? I really don't want to use it as is and ruin the finished quilt. Thanks for any ideas.

You should wait to use the fabric until you feel good about the amount of color coming out. If you are not using white, you might be ok. Responding on another thread today about the only problem I've ever had was with maroon bleeding onto my white and turning it baby pink.

I think Retayne is the product you are looking for. There is also Rit Color Stay. Soda ash is more used to prepare fabric for dying than using it as a fixative but might be worth a shot. The Rit and Soda Ash can often be found with tie dye kits at Walmart!

There are other things you can do like heat treat, depending on how much fabric you have...

Don't use in your washing machine but with troublesome fabrics I like to do a bit of a soak with a small amount of original Dawn dish soap.

A product called Retayne. Bottle says "it stops the bleed", and I've soaked fabric/quilts in a washer with it a time or two in my years of quilting. Use 1 tsp/ per yard of fabric and allow to soak for 20 minutes. Directions are on the bottle. Not sure where I ordered mine from so you will have to "google" it.

Thanks, I will look for the Retayne, I could not remember the name. I will give another shot. Or else it is getting the heave-ho, I'm just not going to risk it. I'll let you know how it goes.

Flannel can be particularly troublesome. You can get Retayne at Dharma Trading Company online.

My experience with bleeding fabric has taught me it makes more sense to buy a different fabric then try to stop it from bleeding, after first wash, with special products, lots of washes, effort and time involved.

i tend to agree witb this. After three soaks and washes. It is time to give it up.

I DO NOT donate this fabric to anyone. No need to cause anyone else a problem.

If it was a recent purchase , i might try returning it to the sture.

Did the label on The end of the bolt say anything ab9ut bleeding? It might be worded as " wash before using."

I agree, do not donate, just toss !

Thanks everyone, I did order the Retayne. but if doesn't work, I will just toss it. I don't know if I should even use it for a dog bed for rescue animals.

FWIW, I have a fat quarter of fabric I bought at a quilt show. It was a beautiful dusty lavender, I had to have it, even though it was hand dyed. I must have washed it dozens of times over the years in futile hopes of success. It has long since lost its original color and the thing still bleeds. I've given up trying to wash it anymore and we have developed a love hate relationship, I glare at it, and it sits on the shelf and grins back at me.

I have noticed that just because color washes out of one fabric does not mean it will adhere to another fabric. Thus the reason color catchers work. Also, I believe fabric has to be treated to accept dyes, when you are buying fabric to dye it has aa special chemical added to it. (PFD = Prepared for dyeing). So before I would throw out a large amount of fabric I wold wash it with something to see what happens.