Metallic fabric question
 

Hi!

I I read in another head that the gold highlights will wash out over time on printed quilting cotton.

What do the fabrics look like when this happens? Are they ruined or is there dye under the metallic and the sparkle just wears away?

is there a way to preserve them mire effectively or is it just the way it goes? Cold water hand wash, lie flat to dry, be a little less freaked out about cleanliness or ????

i bought a really beautiful Kaufman Asian print to do a lone star ( which is really a kind of stack and whack variation) but it's a commission.

How long does it take to wear off? Now I'm nervous!

thanks,


Aileen

I've used metallic fabrics from low-end to high-end and not had a problem yet! One I've had for about 10 years - low end fabric. Granted it's a holiday table topper so only gets washed a couple times/year. Another I've used as a quilt backing. It was a gift but I know the person uses it daily and presume it gets washed more frequently. Have not heard of issues with that one. Using one now as backing to another quilt to be gifted. These two were both high-end fabrics. I'm assuming there will be no issues with this one either.

I would suspect with the Kaufman fabric (which I believe the first backing I mentioned was also) will be just fine in terms of durability and will end up being a lovely quilt.

Are we talking about metallic 'printed' on or with metallic threads woven through the fabric?

I've used various metallic fabrics over the years. Some have held up better than others, but none have been a total mistake. The ones that lost their "shine" were still pretty just no longer sparkly.

they just look like ordinary fabric. Where the gold lines were there is now just a line that still belongs in the print.
The fabric is in no way ruined, honest.

I'm wondering if the water has something to do with it turning green, or other colors, as some have said happened. My parents lived in Northern California, and when you drew a bath, or water for washing dishes, the tub/sink water was blue. It had something to do with the minerals in the water. Maybe the minerals cause a reaction to the metals.

What she ▲ said.

I honestly believe the green came from another fabric that was a bleeder.

ask that question at a quilt shop. Who knows, they may have an answer.

I have heard of this too, here in Oklahoma I remembering a girl telling me that when she was little they lived near sulfur Oklahoma and it had a blue tent to the water. I can understand her being worried about the fabric, I wonder if it would do the same if it were metallic thread?

Old Sulky metallic thread will lose its luster and turn greenish brown. The newer poly metallics might not.
Older lame has turned. I have old fabric with metallic highlights - some turned, most didn't, but dye lots and dye regulations were different back then.

You might not be able to find an answer as the MFG might not know, either, or hasn't shipped the info with the bolts.