Fabric Bleed on Auction Quilt
 

Okay smart quilters, I have a quilt issue and I'm humbling asking for advice.

I made a quilt (got in done in March!) for our family reunion auction that will be held on July 4th. It was this one: Stars & Stripes Quilt by Missouri Star

I didn't use the pre-cuts because I've had problems with bleeding before, so I bought yardage and cut my own red, white, and blue strips. I pre-washed everything, but apparently not enough.

Quilt is back from the LA and I got it labeled and bound. We have cats, so I always wash the quilt before it leaves the house. I used 4 color catchers and the red still bled on the white. So here are my options:

1. Make the same quilt again. I have some of the strips left. However, my mojo is lacking for making the same quilt twice.

2. Make an entirely new, easy quilt. I have two jelly rolls that I could use, but I'd need suggestions for patterns.

3. Pretend I never made a quilt, stuff it in a closet, and go to the auction with no item.

4. Put the original quilt in the auction and go about my business.

Thoughts? Advice? Has this ever happened to you? I'm especially sad about the whole thing. The auction isn't for charity, just to raise funds for the next reunion and to have a little fun. I do have a reputation for putting in high bid items though. Thanks in advance.

I think you are to wash it in Dawn dishwashing liquid. I believe that is the one that takes the rest of the fading out.
Please look for this discussion here on the board.

I have some Dawn. What if I dried it in the dyer already?

You can get the bleed out of the quilt (option #5). It doesn't matter that it went through the dryer. Dryer heat is not enough to permanently set loose dye particles. There are a couple of different ways to do it.

(1) Here is a link to another thread involving a bleed on a show quilt. Read through entirely to the end to find out how she used Synthrapol to remove the bleed. https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f...x-t144836.html

(2) Another method uses Dawn dishwashing soap. Here is a link to it:
http://andsew4th.blogspot.com/2015/0...ing-quilt.html

Edit: Dawn (especially the Pure type that is clear, not blue) and Synthrapol are apparently very similar products. I have purchased Synthrapol from Amazon.

Color catchers were manufactured for ordinary household laundry, not the massive amounts of industrial dye that some quilting fabric retains. So sorry to hear of your troubles. Even if you have dried the quilt, you can still attempt to remove the dye, the worst thing that can happen is it doesn't work. However, instead of the color catchers, try this method. This is how a hand-dyer removes excess dye from her fabrics.

Save my bleeding quilt by Vicki Welsh

When I was young my dad helped with the laundry...... my red white and blue dress had red faded on the white collar. The dry cleaners didn't have time so they told my mom to wash it in Wisk. It all came out. I don't know if you can still buy that product or not but it would be worthwhile if it works for you...
I would try and save the quilt if at all possible. Jmho

This is exactly one of the primary reasons I treat my quilting fabric with a product that I have previously used to set the dye in the fabric I buy for quilts. The Number One reason I wash all my fabric is the chemical residues which remain in the fabric -- I am asthmatic, and I won't risk having the unwashed fabrics in my house. I always test every fabric I'm using in a quilt by cutting a strip about a half-inch wide and 6 inches long, and immersing the strip in a glass of the hottest tap water available. I leave the strip in the glass of hot water for about an hour, then dip a solid white paper towel in the water. The white paper towel will reveal whether the fabric is a bleeder. If it is, then I use Ritz Laundry Treatment Dye Setter to permanently set the dye in the fabric. I have used this product quite a few times and I've never had a treated fabric bleed. I have no financial or other interest in the Ritz product -- it's just that I have used it for several years and have found it to work every time. Today's fabrics are dyed chemically, not organically, and most of the old-time home remedies just won't work on them. The red and white log cabin quilt (my avatar) is an example of how this product works. Every one of the red fabrics were tested, treated and did not bleed thereafter. Discretion is the better part of valor -- I always wash my quilts using color-catchers!

I'm with Peckish---Go to Save my bleeding quilt by Vicki Welsh. No need to make another quilt! I successfully used her method once. Follow her instructions to a T, including putting water in bins ontop of the quilt to make sure every thread stays submerged. I put my quilt in the tub entirely face down because all the bleeding was on the front---further insurance that every thread of the quilt top would stay submerged.

Oh how we all have suffered at one time or another. Go ahead and try all these remedies.....they all work on some dye bleeds, but the manufacturers keep getting ahead of us with their new dyeing methods. After you have done your best, go ahead and proudly display it and make no apologies. No quilt that you made with love deserves to be put in a closet.
And if I was considering buying the quilt personally, I would be glad to know the extent of any red dye bleed. I would pass on any quilt with red because I would assume it had not been washed and I would worry about the "unknown bleed". I would pay a little less, but at least I would buy it.

I once made a red and white Jacobs ladder king size bleeder and, worse, the blue marker bleed into the batting and backing (documented in my QB Blog). After trying all the products, and weeks of scrubbing and drying, most, but not all came out. I was so discouraged but my daughter came along, saw it, scarfted it up, and it has been on her bed ever since .... about 2 years now. And when I visit her, the quilt is so lovely, I do not notice any of the remaining marks....and she still loves it. So cheer up, chin up, no quilt is perfect, but we love them all!

Please update us on what you do. Anxious to hear about it.