My batik is disintegrating.
 

I have a 15 year old quilt that gets lots of use and washings. For the most part, it’s holding up well, just a little fraying at the binding edge, except for the one batik I used. The batik is looking like something has been nibbling on it, although I know that can't be. Little hairline tears are also showing up along with the round "chew marks". It's as if the fabric is disintegrating before my eyes or even dry rotting! I know this was a first quality batik, purchased from a LQS. Maybe the process used to create it degraded the fabric. Anybody experience this? I think I'm going to refrain from using batiks in my daily use quilts from now on.

Uh-oh! I don't have any 15+ year old quilts but I'm really looking forward to hearing some answers on this one. So sorry that all the work you put into your quilt is disappearing before your eyes. I'll not use anymore batiks until I hear some answers on this one. Thanks for the posting.

What kind of detergent are you using for washing your quilts? There are many specialty soaps out there for washing your fine antique linens and quilts. If you have been using Woolite or regular laundry detergents, there are chemical that are very hard on the fabric. Look at how denim fades over the years.

I used the same detergent on the whole quilt. Other than the batik (and some binding wear), the fabrics look pretty good. Thus I kind of blame my batik more than I do the detergent.

I'm thinking some of the holes might be damage from pinning where the damaged hole grew? Batiks tend to be fairly tight weave and relatively harder to needle.

The batik is purple, as are about 2/3 of the fabrics in the quilt.

This is happening to my quilt I made in 2003. It is on a guest bed, just for looks, little to no usage, never washed, and all the batik fabrics are desinigrating. I thought it was just a couple, and I have some fabric left in my stash, but it is all of them....little hairline tears, along the straight of grain. But it is queen size, I cant replace them all. The colors are brown and pink with a touch of green. I am so sad. But batiks are off my list

Well this isn't good news! That stuff is expensive! I have 20 year old everyday quilts made from JoAnn's fabric that I wash at least bi-weekly in regular detergent and they're not even showing wear, much less deterioration. Reminds me of the crazy quilts of old where the silk has disintegrated because of the metallic salts used in the manufacturing of the silk. I, too, will be watching this topic.

Glad to hear that I'm not alone. I'm also glad that I don't own many batiks!....although maybe the print process is better now than in the 2000s when we bought these fabric, although I'm definitely not going to take the chance.

This might start a panic for batik lovers. just kidding.