I will never use red and maroon fabric in a quilt again!
 

I have driven myself crazy trying to get these fabrics to quit bleeding. I have used different rinses and color catchers. Any other advice on how to deal with these colors?

Sometimes you just have to give up and bite the big one. I had a Madras shirt from India that never quit bleeding.

Have you tried ReTayne? Some people swear by it.

I have had an occasional piece that has ended up in the TRASH - (didn't want anyone else to have a problem with it)

Red is not the only color that occasionally behaves like that - I have had a blue, a purple, a turquoise, and an orange also bleed 'forever.'

When I got back into working on quilts a friend of mine informed me of the color catchers. I purchased extra fabric of the yardage I wanted (red) and washed it in hot water. I used 2 color catcher sheets. One for the first wash then that had a lot of color in it. I decided to wash it again and used the 2nd sheet. I also threw in a white piece of material that had an old tear in it. The catcher had a little hint of pink and the bigger piece of material (a cotton towel)had no color I could see. Then I threw it in the dryer on medium heat. I then put a small piece of it into a small bucket with soapy water and a small piece of catcher. After 20 minutes, I pulled both pieces out and put the white catcher against another piece of the catcher and looked good. So if I have to use reds or like colors I will use the catchers and wash in very warm water. I just buy extra yardage.

The problem with some of these dyes that bleed, you don't know who is going to be allergic to them. If they have any synthetic fiber at all it just may bleed. I definitely don't use bleed fabrics on baby or kid quilts.

maybe this would help http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/2127-AA.shtml synthropol

It's not clear from your question whether you are pre-washing the fabrics or have already sewn them into a quilt. If it's the former, then Retayne should set the dye. If the latter, then don't use Retayne since it will set dye onto any fabric in the quilt, including those that are not red or maroon.

It is so sad to hear these stories. I swear by Retayne. I test almost everything before cutting. Some things bleed a little and don't need anything else after a wash. Most bleed and the dyes are set by a Retayne treatment. There are a few for which there is no hope. At least that has been my experience.

Must be the fabric you buy. I use lots of cranberry, navy blue and some red. I use a color catcher and no bleeding problems at all.