Question about red fabric
 

Hi, everyone!

As a general rule, I am not a fan of the color red. But I'm getting ready to start a Christmas quilt-along, so I do want to use some red fabric. I do not prewash my fabrics. Is there a way to keep red fabric from bleeding into the other colors when I wash the quilt after finishing it? Thanks for any suggestions.

Red is my favorite color and I have made many quilts with red fabric. I have never had one bleed. I do use quilt shop, name brand fabric.

I do not pre-wash either, but I soak red fabric in cool water to see what happens. Then I let it dry on a hanger and iron. I had a bad experience with red bleeding after it was quilted. Hope this helps.

I always use color catchers when I wash my finished quilt. I have had reds bleed.

Test it for bleeding first - get a paper towel or a white rag, dampen it, then rub it on the red fabric. If the towel turns red, you're going to want to treat it before putting it in the quilt.

Here is the best, easiest way I've found to treat bleeding fabrics. It was written by a quilter who makes a lot of her own hand-dyed fabric, and this is how she removes excess dye. As far as I'm concerned, this is her ticket into heaven. :D

Save My Bleeding Quilt by Vicki Welsh

I have had more than one Moda red bleed.

I've also had RJR fabrics bleed. (Years ago)

I've also had a red that I purchased at a LQS this winter have excess dye.

I am in the group that feels - strongly - that it is just easier to soak, wash, and dry everything washable before cutting it for peace of mind, if nothing else.

I "assume" that whoever will be the final owner of the item will probably just toss the item in the wash and not be aware of the "proper protocol" for washing quilted items and I want to make this as foolproof as possible.

I do, however, fear bleach, burns, and tears.

I have had more than one Moda red bleed.

I've also had RJR fabrics bleed. (Years ago)

I've also had a red that I purchased at a LQS this winter have excess dye.

I am in the group that feels - strongly - that it is just easier to soak, wash, and dry everything washable before cutting it for peace of mind, if nothing else.

I "assume" that whoever will be the final owner of the item will probably just toss the item in the wash and not be aware of the "proper protocol" for washing quilted items and I want to make this as foolproof as possible.

I do, however, fear bleach, burns, and tears.

I used to "just wash" my fabrics - until I tried using a starch/sizing on a blue and a red RJR (again, this was several years ago) and the red and blue fabrics bled on to the gray. I was surprised and not happy.

My experience is that at least 90% of the red fabrics I have used bleed at least on their first experience in water. Whether or not the fabrics next to them in a quilt will pick up the red dye in the water is not a gamble that I want to take. Therefore, I test ALL. If needed, Retayne treatment is next.

It matters not at all whether the red fabric is an LQS fabric - almost all bleed for me. And red is not the only color with that problem.

I don't wash my fabrics before cutting but I do starch them so they're dipped into my dishpan full of starch, then run thru my wringer and hung to dry. Then I spritz them with water and press them. Normally if they're going to bleed, it will happen during my starching. Once my quilt is finished I usually put it thru the washer with a color catcher so whomever I give the quilt to won't be startled the 1st time they wash it.

Once after I washed a quilt I didn't see the red bleed onto the white so I thru it into the dryer. Thought for sure it was ruined but someone here said to put it thru the washer again with another color catcher and sure enough the red bleed came out so all was good with the world again.

I wash all red, black, dark brown, dark blues prior to using, unless it's a wall hanging. Just me. I have had some triangle cut fabrics shrink when ironing with steam. They usually shrink in the middle.
I like spray starching on the back side of the fabric, rub in into the material so it doesn't leave little white speck for me to brush off. I think your project looks better and is more accurate when ironed. Happy sewing.

Peckish aka Peggy, thanks for the link, I've printed it and will try it on my current quilt which is yellow, greys, and deep red.

These are my color catchers after prewashing quilt shop fabric. The lighter 2 are the 2nd and 3rd washes. Why take the chance with red, just prewash for this project. If not, definitely remember the color catchers at the end.

Red bleeds. Prewash it. If it is dark, use Retayne.

If it crocks (comes off when rubbed), Retayne won’t fix that. I have a sewing machine that once was white and is now pink.

I never buy quilt shop or brand name fabrics and don't have a problem with bleeding.

I do pre wash all fabrics using color catchers' Wash finished quilts with color catchers.

I only was everything in cold water Tide.

Not all reds bleed. But some do. I can't tell by looking which ones will or won't.

I toss at least 4-5 color catchers in with a large quilt that has intense color in it. Sometimes it takes a repeat until the color catchers are clean.

Reds bleed. So do some purples, blues, and blacks. Strong colors get prewashed here. Always. Why put all that work into something to have the chance of it being ruined?

I am not nice to my fabrics when I bring them home (quilting cottons). I make a lot of charity quilts and I never know to whom they will be given - So o o - I fling them in the washing machine (color sorted of course), load it with regular laundry detergent, wash on warm, and set the cycle at permapress. If the fabric is good fabric and well dyed, it will survive anything - no coddling necessary. I do use color catchers and they have saved me a lot of money and agony by preventing running dyes and I have had bleeding from every color. Bottom line: I prewash ALL of my fabrics, dry and iron. I use starch when I am ready to use that fabric in a quilt

When I was hand weaving delicate tea towels, I would wash it in as harsh a situation as I could. I would try to ruin it. If I couldn't ruin it, then I figured the customer couldn't either. My thought was that I never want to see this thing again. I want someone to buy it, pay for it, and use it.

I am a Color Catcher fan and wash my completed quilts before I gift them. I want to know what it does in the wash. I also prewash my fabric. I got burned once with a dark blue batik...I learned my lesson. When I gift a quilt, I give a brief page of instruction on the care and feeding of a quilt. I add in some Color Catchers. Sometimes I put a care label I make and sew it into the binding on the back.

I'll join in on this one. I am asthmatic, so I prewash EVERY FABRIC that comes into this house. I have also gone through the "bleeding" with fabric, and I have tried every home remedy from Oklahoma to Florida and back again. The problem is that the dyes used in our fabrics are no longer organic, they are chemical dyes. Some of them bleed, but they are no respecter of color -- blues will bleed. I test my fabrics by cutting a 1/2" wide strip about 6 inches long and placing it in a glass of hottest tap water available. If the fabric is going to bleed, that color will show up in the water, or you can lay the wet strip on a solid white paper towel. If the fabric is a bleeder, it will show up on the paper towel. I found a product I use which is a laundry treatment product -- called Ritz Laundry Treatment - Dye Setter. The product was originally intended to set the dyes in hand-dyed fabric. I ordered some online and used it on the "bleeding" fabric -- it stopped the bleeding and/or "set" the dye. After treating it, I re-washed it both with some white fabric and a color catcher. Neither the fabric nor the color catcher showed any of the previous bleeding so I continue to use the product. I make it a policy to test every colored fabric simply because, like Coopah, I don't want to waste time and money making a quilt to have it ruined the first time it's washed by bleeding dyes -- I cannot afford to do that. So I use a product that I know works.

Forgive me if I should have started a new thread to ask this question. Why wouldn't you wash fabrics before you work with them? Isn't there chemical residue, with carcinogens such as formaldehyde, from the factory in retail fabrics? I quoted Jeanette because she happens to have a noticeable reaction to the chemicals but some reactions are silent and dangerous.

I have made more garments and draperies than quilts and in order to avoid surprises in fit, I always wash those fabrics that can be laundered. Do people not launder quilts before making them so that the cotton shrinkage makes the quilt pucker? I happen to like the way it looks but, in general, is that considered desirable?

What I can never quite figure out is, why do some people have reds bleed and others not?

I use a lot of red. Other than baby quilts, I don't remember a quilt that didn't have at least some red in it.

I don't prewash, nor do I use color catchers. I wash when they are done, in a front loading washer with warm water. I've only had one quilt that had any bleeding that migrated onto other parts of the quilt - and that wasn't actually from the wash, it was from being sprayed by the long armer. (Who returned it to me folded nicely so that spot did not show. Note: Always open the quilt when you pick it up!). Washing a couple of times with Synthrapol removed all but the tiniest of traces; if you don't know where to look, you'd never notice it.

I'm not sure if bleeding has happened in the wash and just didn't settle back onto other fabrics (as is what happens with dirty laundry) as they were washed with regular detergent? In other words, if I had had a dye catcher, perhaps it would have caught any dye that is dispersed in the water as they are treated to do just that?

Anyhow - since the one that came back with a bit of spotting, I have randomly checked reds with a damp white washcloth, but have never had any more that have bled.

My reasons for not washing are three-fold. 1, I like the "crinkly" look - although I wonder if prewashing fabrics for bleeding would still allow this to happen, as it would still allow batting to shrink up. (Aside: for those who was due to allergies/asthma, do you also wash the batting then?) 2, I like the crispness of the unwashed fabric for piecing; if I washed, I would then have to starch everything before cutting and 3, I guess the easiest way to explain it is laziness... I don't want to do the extra laundry and pressing!

I'm not a pre-washer except when it comes to red. I love red but have the worst luck with it bleeding. I buy quilt shop quality fabric too- doesn't matter.
I always pre-wash red.

Having just started quilting about 2 years ago I never suspected it was something to worry about. My first project was a red and cream log cabin. After completing the flimsy I washed it in cold water. I ended up taking 'logs' out of some blocks and taking out complete blocks that were so stained with bleeding. One of my worst bleeders was one of my most expensive fabrics, all were quilt store quality.

Sometimes I pre-wash, sometimes I don't. I always use Color Catchers even when I wash new clothes. The difference in colors bleeding may be the water. I have city water but my parents have well water. I really don't know why some colors bleed and others don't.

I was leary of using this red as sashing on my red, white, and blue swap, but I washed two yards and it it fine. Studio 8 by Quilting Treasures.

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Joann's has free shipping today (6/27) on Rit 8 oz. Liquid Dye-1PK/Dye Fixative.

About two years ago, I attended a showing of Quilting Treasures fabrics and the factory rep had a slide show of how their brand of fabric is produced. After it's printed and is being rolled onto the bolts, the fabric undergoes a HOT water bath! So their fabrics are already preshrunk and excess dye (if any) washed out of the fabric. I look for QT fabric as I figure I can just do a rinse and spin instead of a complete wash. Good to hear that their red didn't bleed!

Thank-you coopah for info regarding Quilting Treasures red fabric. Just as a side note, I always use color catchers because my son most always wears red polos. They are washed in cool/cold water and I can't believe the "pink" color catcher that I take out of the washer. These polos have been washed many times!

I'm intrigued! Tell me more about this thing you call a "wringer" in this day and age. Have you salvaged an oldie but goodie?

I always pre wash then use color catchers in a second wash for dark colors.

Purchase good quality red fabric and test it ( use a white paper towel or piece of muslin, wet it & rub it to see if the red comes off on the white. If it does— prewash it if it passes the test then go ahead. I love red & use a lot of it- in 20 years I’ve only had one run— and my mom used some particular harsh detergent that pretty much took the color out of everything.
i love Kona solids they seem to be very stable ( but there are knock offs that claim to be Kona - but are not, the fake ones bleed like crazy)

Bleeding of the dye can occur in the highest quality fabric -- that's just a fact. If I'm using a red, you can just about bet I'll treat it with a dye fixative. I always prewash my fabric because I have asthma and the chemicals in the fabric will almost always precipitate an asthma incident or even an attack. I've found that MOST reds will bleed -- but all colored fabrics could bleed. I just don't take a chance. I test them and if there's even the slightest hint that the fabric will bleed, I will treat. Just washing doesn't always remove the excess dye, and I have tried every home remedy that I've ever heard of and they just don't work, including epsom salts, vinegar (2 gallons worth for borders for a single quilt, but it still bled), so I use what I know will work. And, since discretion is the better part of valor, I always use color catchers in the wash. I was taught when I was very young that it's better to be safe than sorry! I subscribe to that theory! I always buy the best fabric I can afford so I take whatever precautions I need to so that the quilts I make show that I care. I do not make huge numbers of quilts, but the ones I make will last!