For me, doing the Vicki Welsh treatment for fabrics is well worth the extra time and effort.

Even some "good/better/more expensive" fabrics have had very bad manners!

(meaning they bled, wrinkled, shrunk, or in some way were not nice to use.)

Also, I've had some/most of the older VIPs, Peter Pan, Marcus Brothers - some of the fabrics some people consider "lesser brands" behave beautifully - the colors were fast, minimal shrinkage and wrinkling - you did notice I said "most"

I have had some Modas that were bleeders or loaded with excess dye.

I do not seem to be smart enough to tell ahead of time which fabrics might be problematic. So they all go through the soaking/washing process.

But - I also prefer a flatter look - and - even if I liked the puckered look - I would prefer "even" puckers.

I also wash my 108" fabric, I have had as much as 6" shrinkage in the width of the fabric

I just made a handful of neck coolers. I used some red from my stash. It wasnt until i was all done that it dawned on me that when they got wet and were put around the neck, they might bleed and turn a neck red!!! So i put them all in a sink of hot water with a color catcher.
i just could not win with this quick project! Not only was the color catcher a pale pink, Now they have all swollen so much that you can not even lay them around your neck. I still dont know if i added too many soaker pellets of if the hot water expanded them way more than normal!
But at least they did not bleed down someone’s neck!!
i think this must be what happens when you have been away from the studio for a bit. Thinking you will run in and create something super fast! I should have quit when i had several bobbin issues and broke a needle!!

Originally Posted by Tartan ---- As Clint Eastwood would say ”do you feel lucky?”

Nope! I Would toss that fabric. I have a blouse for 3 years and it is red -- it still fades out.

Take a white cotton kitchen towel. Dampen a corner of it and rub it good on your red fabric. If the red shows up on your white towel, you know you have a bleeder. If so, I agree with Bear about the Vicki Welsh method, although I don't think it takes any extra time and effort - in fact, I think it's LESS time and effort than multiple washings with color catchers.

FYI in case you're not familiar with Vicki Welsh, she's a hand-dyer and quilter, and took it upon herself to research and experiment with all the various methods of setting dyes and fixing bleeders, including Retayne, Synthrapol, Dawn, and regular detergent. Her research, data, and conclusions are all in that link above. If you want her instructions on how to do it with your fabrics, click the link at the top of her page where it says "Download the full instructions here".