colors and quilting methods
 

Hello!

I have a question for the group. I was given a hand-stitched quilt top by a friend; she asked that I finish it out and donate for the bazaar. While cleaning a small stain, I noticed that the green color was rubbing off very easily. So, I wondered, should I finish the quilt? Will the colors run and ruin it? See photos for more details. Also, another question: since the quilt is completely hand stitched, should I finish it by tying or by machine quilting? And this will only happen if I can resolve whether the colors will run when it is washed.

Thanks for any replies!![ATTACH=CONFIG]555375[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]555376[/ATTACH]

can you finish it and then wash it with color catchers? or wash it now with color catchers before investing time and supplies?

Could you ask your friend if she has any scraps of the green for you to test for color-fastness?

My inclination would be to tie rather than machine quilt since it is hand pieced.

If it's rubbing off, it's called 'crocking'. I like the idea of getting some scraps to experiment with. It will have to be washed before donating.

I don't think there are any scraps to test. I agree with tie method. Thanks!

I've never tried the color catchers. I guess I need to purchase some. Is this a Wal-Mart item?

I would definitely finish that beautiful quilt. It looks like it's very well made. I would have no hesitation machine quilting it, even though the top was stitched by hand.

I bought mine at Krogers.

I bought some at Walmart.

Dina

There is not a single good answer for this. Working with vintage fabrics is certainly trickier than working with new fabrics & you didn't say if this was a new quilt created with vintage fabrics, or if it is actually from the 1940's. If it's from the 40's, it's possible the fixative has started to break down & is no longer holding the dye as well. In that case, you could try washing it in Synthropol & then re-setting the dyes with Retayne.

To prevent crocking, you need to reduce the friction. When spot cleaning, you want to dab up & down, rather than rubbing side to side. When washing, you want to use cold water & set on the lowest speed your washer has. Ideally, it would be dried by putting a large sheet out on the lawn & setting the quilt/top on that to dry. Air drying helps because it eliminates the friction caused by tumble drying.

But neither these methods nor Color Catchers are a guarantee the color won't bleed or crock. Crocking, in particular, can happen in the dryer & these products all work in the washing machine. If it was me, I'd check with the person who gave me the top & let her know what's going on to see how she'd like to proceed, knowing that there are possibilities to deal with the crocking, but nothing is guaranteed & laundering possibly could end up changing the coloration of the quilt top.

As to your other questions -- yes, you can buy Shout Color Catchers at Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, most grocery stores, etc. And I think either hand tying or machine quilting would look nice. I'd make the decision based on which design best supports the hand applique/piecing -- there are strong arguments either way.