Retayne vs. color catchers
 

I have black marbled batik fabric for the backing of a throw sized quilt. I am told I need to pre wash this fabric. Is there a difference between these two products? Which should I use and have people had success with them? Thank You.
Mary Ann

They are used differently. Retayne is used to 'set' the dye into the fabric to help prevent future bleeding. Color catchers simply help collect the loose dye that comes out into themselves so the excess dye does not collect in your other fabrics. If it was me, and I had both on hand, I would first wash with the Retayne following the directions on the bottle regarding water temps, etc, then wash a second time with the color catchers to see if they come out clean. If so, you should be good to go. On the other hand, if you only have color catchers, wash once and see how discolored the catcher is, and if it has picked up lots of dye, wash again until your catcher stays white, meaning no more loose dye came out.

Yes. Retayne will fix the dye in the fabric. It is used on yardage, not completed quilts. Color catchers will capture dye shed by the fabric into the water so it won't latch on to other fabrics in the wash. They can be used with yardage and completed quilts. There is also another product Synthrapol. this will keep shed dye in suspension so it won't bleed on other fabric.

I'm assuming you were told to wash it because of the risk of bleeding?

I don't always do as I'm told. :p I would test it for bleeding first. You may find that the batik is one that has already been washed (by the manufacturer) in plenty of hot water to remove the wax. You can test it by getting a white kitchen towel wet, then rubbing it on the fabric. If dye transfers to the towel, then you have a bleeder.

I have dyed a lot of fabric in the past year for my own use so I have done a lot of experimenting with fabric & dye. I'm still learning of course but all of the advice above is "spot on" in my opinion & in my findings.