Pre-washing...Colour catchers.
 

I am making a black and white quilt.

This is a picture of the second set of colour catchers that I put through with my black fabrics.

Am I glad I pre-wash? You betcha because some of that grey would have ended up on my white the first time around.

Watson

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Indeed!! ...

Now, settle down those dyes now with a Retayne treatment.

How do you do a Retayne treatment? Throw the fabric/quilt in the washer with a 1/2 cup of Retayne and wash as usual?

How do you know how much Retayne to use?
I have about 10 yards of black fabric.

Watson

JaneQuilter and Watson ...
I'll answer both of you ....

Most LQS' sell it.
For Watson, I have never seen it at Len's, nor Fabricland, but not saying that other locations have it than where I have been. JaneQuilter, I'm not in the States, so don't know about Joanne's etc. I have seen here on the QB that some have ordered it online from Dharma Trading, USA based.

Here's a Dharma link that tells you more ...
https://www.dharmatrading.com/chemicals/retayne.html

I have always washed the fabric once with colour catchers.
If they come out coloured, I may wash and second time, but most times I go straight to Retayne.

I run hot water into my washing machine and add the Retayne. Let it Swish. Then add the fabric.
I usually toss in a colour catcher, just as a monitor, but have never had one come out coloured. Swish til all is soaked and submerged. Then I close the lid and let it sit. Usually hours rather than the 20 minutes they say. When I am ready, I finish the wash cycle ... and dry.

Until now, I have never heard the Synthropol recommendation but I don't see the need.
Actually I see it as countering what you want to do ... like it said, expect some fading.

Try this before you frustrate yourself with Retayne and more color catchers.

https://www.colorwaysbyvicki.com/sav...ing-quilt.html

Thanks, Peckish. I will try that, as I'm not sure I could get those other things around here.

Watson

There are directions on the bottle. It is figured by how many yards of fabric you are doing.

I used Retayne on 3 meters of beautiful, aqua blue, endlessly bleeding batik and was very happy with the results. I will say that I pre-rinse not wash with soap. I think that helps to minimize fading. I have also had good luck with a mixture of salt an vinegar. No real exact amounts--sort of a handful of salt (or epsom salts) and a good splash of vinegar in a sink of water.

I pre wash all of my fabrics with cold water tide and 3-4 color catchers.

I do the same with all finished quilts.

I use the color catchers until they fall apart.

This method has never failed me. I dry fabrics and quilts on regular heat.

I washed about 100 yards of red woven fabric which ran.I used the Retayne to fix (attach) as much loose dye as I could. Then I washed with Synthropol to remove the excess dye. Otherwise the woven fabric could not have been sold in the shop.

After seeing those pics, I'm wondering if the mfgrs have changed their formulas for coloring fabric....cost efficient, but consumer weak. We are paying more for this cotton fabric, but the quality is poorer...weave is looser, WOF is lessened, colors bleed. Why doesn't the colors on clothing fabric bleed as readily? Or is it just cotton fabric that does not hold color?

what sort of shop washes fabric before sale?

I used the method that Peckish posted and quite a bit of dye came out. I then washed it again and the water was quite clear, so it looks like a success. I dried the fabric...I was afraid it would be faded after all that... but it still looks black.

GeriB, good question about what the manufacturers are doing, and why clothing doesn't bleed like this. This was good quality fabric.

Thanks again to the QuiltingBoard for coming to my rescue.

Watson

I agree with Jingle. I wash with tide pod and cold water and throw in a color catcher. I have never had a problem. That said, black is over dyed and it tends to need a couple of washings. I have noticed in antique quilts black is the first to disintegrate.

I have a front load washer so I can't do a lot of soaking. I would NEVER purchase a front load washer again by the way!

Glad to see someone else say they would never buy another front load m@chine. I had one and hated it. Just got a new speed queen top loader and just LOVE watching my clothes and fabric swishing in the water, lol.

Was wonderin* if you can reuse the color catchers. Glad you posted that you use them till they shred. Lol

I also have used Dawn dish soap and have had fantastic results. A friend of mine just gave me a project to put a backing on and her red thread bled into the white. A soaking of Dawn and Oxyclean got the red totally out. She no longer has pink snow flakes.

While I love my front loader for the ease of removing a wet king sized bed quilt I have to agree, they are not very versatile for folks that need to wash items that need a good soak or soak with no agitation. When mine breaks,it’ll be replaced with a top loader.

I have never figured out how to use retayne in my front loader. And I have a bottle of the stuff that I wanted to use wih a black fabric that runs does anyone know if the retayne will work if I put the fabric in a tub of water instead of using the washer?

Rob

Found the culprit. I had put both of the black fabrics in..one a B&W print and one a grey on black print and it is the grey on black print that is losing dye like crazy. I can tell because I have a piece of the black and white print that didn't get washed and it still looks the same when I compare the two. Interesting.
The B&W print also feels like a nicer fabric so there is definitely something to that.

Watson

Yep, I am glad that I turned in my front load washing machine for a top loader. Unfortunately, when my front loader machine kicked the bucket, I didn't have enough money to buy the machine I wanted. I figured I would go for a really simple, inexpensive machine. I thought less could go wrong with a simpler, no extra bells and whistles on the machine, I was a little too hasty and didn't give it enough thought. My machine does not let you soak your clothes at all. It automatically locks the lid and starts washing. If the lid is open when the machine is finished filling with water and you don't close the lid within 10 or so minutes, the machine automatically drains the water. I guess there is a difference between inexpensive and cheap. My machine is cheap.

I want to add that I use the washing machine, Retayne (1 tsp per yard) and color catcher just as you do but my washer is a front load and it works just as well. I put the Retayne in the detergent dispenser and use hot water, let the cycle start and distribute water/Retayne solution then stop my washer and let it set for quite a while before finishing the cycle. The question on a front loader usually comes up :) Oops I just read posts after submitting and see that the front load issue has already come up. Not to start a debate at all, but I do love my front load.

The link: Save my Bleeding Quilt uses Dawn Ultra Pure as one of its test items, when I google for that particular version of Dawn, it's not to be found. Dawn Ultra, Dawn Pure Essentials are available.

Vicki Welsh gives a link to Dawn Ultra Pure in her article. I'm surprised you couldn't find it via Google.

She also states that she doesn't see any reason why any of the Dawn products wouldn't work. You just want to avoid detergents with bleach or other chemicals that might react adversely.

Several quilters, me included, have had success with this method using the regular blue Dawn.

Thanks Peckish!

I prewash every piece of fabric that comes in the house. I also test fabrics for bleeding, and if they bleed, I treat them with a dye setting solution that I bought online (not retayne) --This product is relatively inexpensive, and I've never had it fail. I have asthma, so I prewash everything, to prevent bleeding, but most importantly, to eliminate the possibility of respiratory reactions to chemicals in fabric. I've never had a fabric bleed after treating it.

What is the name of this product?

Just curious, as I will try Dawn first, since I always have it on hand. As a matter of fact, I am using Dawn on one of my sweatshirts, as we speak, trying to get some grease spots off. I didn't realize that I had any stains and washed and dried it. Darn! Some website said to try that and let it set for a few hours and then wash it again. We'll see how well it works.

Try this to see if it lets you soak your fabric. Get a small magnet and place it over where the lid closes. Experiment as to position. My DH likes to leave our lid open too and this was his solution. The magnet needs to be over the switch location.

The American Textile Museum closed and donated their woven fabric (still on the back beam of the looms) to the NE Quilt Museum. I had to hire movers because some of the loaded beams weighed about 200 pounds, then unwind and cut the pieces before stitching seams for coverlets, lap robes, place mats and table runners. Everything also had to be washed as there was shrinkage and in the case of the red, bleeding.

"I have never figured out how to use retayne in my front loader. And I have a bottle of the stuff that I wanted to use wih a black fabric that runs does anyone know if the retayne will work if I put the fabric in a tub of water instead of using the washer?" (Sorry, haven't figured out the quote ability.)

Retayne works well in a tub or bucket. You need a large enough container/tub so your fabric can move freely in the hot water. Use a teaspoon of Retayne for each yard of fabric in hot water. When you put the dry fabric in, stir regularly for 20 minutes. Then rinse with cold water. (If I have several yards of fabric or more, I throw it in the washer at this point!) I hate to admit it but I usually throw in a Color Catcher for my peace of mind.

Grannies G: Thank you, I'll try that and see if it works.

LovingLakeMich: for replying with a quote, look at the yellow strip below the post that you want to quote from and there are 2 options on the right-hand side: 'reply' and 'reply with quote'. Click on the 'reply with quote' and the quote will come up in the 'quick reply' box. You just reply from there. If there is more to the quote than you want, you can delete the information until you get to only the portion of the quote that you want to use.

OKay, you asked -- I use Ritz Laundry Treatment Dye Setter -- I purchased it online. I have no financial interest in either the manufacturer or seller of this product, except that I use it and it works. It is relatively inexpensive for my use.

Many thanks!