Help...it won't stop bleeding
 

I am washing a bright blue batik to back a quilt. I've washed it three times and the color catcher is just as blue after the third time as the first. I have some Retayne but it says to use before washing it the first time. Anyone had any luck using it after several washings? Thanks.

I think it MAY have meant before washing it in a finished item for the first time.

All you can do is wash it til it stops bleeding. I had that happen with some hand-me-down fabric. It is very frustrating.

Throw some scraps of the other fabrics you're going to use with it in the wash. If they don't pick the color up then go ahead and use the blue.

Absolutely brilliant! I wish I'd know this a while back. Let's call it my "Most important nugget of knowledge" for today. I just love this board!

I don't really agree with this theory. Even if the other fabrics in the quilt don't pick up and retain the blue, that doesn't mean that the blue won't continue to come off on the sheets, the hands, other things. It may wash out of all of them eventually, but who wants a bleeding fabric on their bed?

It doesn't matter. You can use Retayne on fabric that has already been washed.

There are a couple of different reasons why a fabric continues to bleed.

One reason is that the fabric has been over-saturated with dye; there is more dye than the fibers can absorb. After one or two washes, all of the excess dye has been rinsed out and you are good to go.

The other reason, which is the one you are probably facing, is that the manufacturing process did not properly and permanently set the dye. You can use Retayne to set the dye; just be sure to always wash the quilt in cool water afterwards, as Retayne loses its effect if the fabric is subsequently washed in hot water (even though you need very hot water to get the Retayne to work!).

Synthrapol merely suspends loose dye particles in water so they rinse away instead of settling into other fabrics. It does not permanently set dye, but rather is useful for getting rid of excess dye without having bleeds into other fabrics (or discoloring other portions of the fabric). This is what you would wash a finished quilt in if you are unsure about bleeding.

I actually threw away a piece of blue batik that never did stop bleeding - not a big piece though - so not a very big loss. I even showed it to my DH - in a pure white dishpan - every time that I pushed it up and down in the water it would ooze out blue die - my DH said it reminded him of an octopus that squirted out blue ink when cornered! I only buy my batiks from quilt shops so it was a nice brand/quality.