I prewashed my red and then washed the finished quilt. IT RAN. The quilt top was red and white. So, I suggest pre washing several times to be sure.

I had some red and blue fabric run on the white backing of a quilt when I put it in the dryer to fluff it up. I didn't think it would bleed with heat only. But I washed it with white vinegar and salt and most of it came out. And, no color came on the color catcher.

Back in the days of "Zumba" pants I learned that to retain the color and stop it from bleeding you should first put it in a salt water bath and that would set the color. I don't know if it would work on that fabric but it did work on all thos "Zumba" pants I made for my kids back in the day.

This is what we did with "Val Surf" shirts last century.

Cold saltwater soak for an hour and then wash in warmwater with a piece of muslin

The instructions told me to wash it 1st in hot water 140 degrees...but did not tell me what to do after that...:/
So, I am going to do what you all say and do another treatment of Retayne in hot water, then after that wash it in cold with a color catcher again...I sooo do not want to ruin this quilt so I will do whatever it takes to make my customer happy with his red backing that doesn't bleed hahaha thank you all so much for your advise it is soo helpful and I listen to every bit of it! :)

This board is soo amazing and full of helpful people who have been there, done that, its soo nice :)

use shout brand color catches i have used them on my off white with burgandy trim and burgandy valance they truly work i would put at least 5 or 6 to be on the safe side.you could wash the red fabric first that might help..i wish you the best of luck if all else fails tell your friend that you don't feel comfortable using the red,tell her why then let her choose if it bleeds it will be on her not you.

I would keep washing it in hot water until it stops bleeding - or at least until the bleeding is so minimal that it won't turn the t-shirts on the top pink.

I wouldn't bother with Retayne, if you can only wash in cool after you use it. A quilt needs to be able to stand up under the most adverse conditions imaginable and that includes the accidental washing in hot water. :)

I would wash it alone with color catcher's in hot hot water. I try to do this first for a couple of washes - then do a hot wash with retayne. I do not dry it in the dryer until the water comes out clear. Some reds never stop bleeding.

I pre-wash everything with Retayne before I use it. Then I don't have to worry about it.