This terrible issue is just another reason for me to continue to wash all of my finished quilts before they leave my house. I wash for a couple of reasons, but primary to check for color fastness, to make sure none of my seams come loose, check for loose threads, make sure I quilted enough so that the batting doesn't shift and lastly because I love the look of a wrinkled quilt (personal opinion). I also sew into my binding seams a care label, think that helps the new owners with washing....

I wonder if the fabric was OLDER which made it less colorfast.
I wonder how it was washed ???? Hot water ???? and/or strong detergent ?????

I see that someone suggested using Woolite to wash quilts. In my opinion that is the WORST thing you can use on any quilt. I made a patchwork reversible jacket for a friend of mine. When she washed it the first time, she washed it in woolite liquid and it made the batiks bleed something terrible. It ruined the whole jacket as she never could get the stains out. Alot of work went into that jacket and she never wore it again. All of the material had been pre-washed a couple of times and I used Retayne on them. I won't ever use wool-ite on anything. What a discouraging thing for both of us.

I also think soaking in a bathtub could release dye and make the problem worse.

The thing is - the quilt was a gift - and the person did not have any control over what was done to it before she got it.

Good luck - the Rit dye remover is NOT a good idea for this project.

How sad for the Bride. Another reason I ALWAYS pre-wash and indicate on the instructions for washing that the fabric is "new" but I have pre-washed it.

I pre-wash all of my fabrics too. I would hate to have this happen to someone who gets a quilt of mine as a gift, either from me or a client. I have never been sorry to have pre-washed my fabrics before I sew. Why risk a disaster?

This is why I always wash before cutting. I also include color catchers with each quilt I gift, as well as care instructions. I'm sorry that happened to your friend.

I always prewash. I want my quilts to look the same after washing. As some yardage shrinks a lot, you could end up with mis-shapened pieces after washing.

And people laugh at me for pre-washing pre-cuts, like jelly rolls and fat quarters. One of the worst disasters I've had is a lap quilt made out of jelly rolls, not pre-washed, because they tell you not to do that. It was for a raffle for a child with cancer. Of course I washed the quilt when finished, cold water, small amount of Orvis soap, and 3 color catchers. It bled everywhere! I was just sick. Not only was the quilt ruined, but I had less than 10 days to do something for the raffle, and this was important to me. I knew the family, and the little girl. So I picked up the queen sized quilt I had been working on, and I went to work like a madwoman. It was a real beauty, a log cabin with stars and an unusual layout. Very striking. I worked virtually non-stop, and finished it up the morning of the raffle. That quilt was meant for my Dad, but when I explained the situation to him, he just said: "You go, Sweetheart." They ended up putting the quilt in the auction, instead of the raffle, and it brought $500! That's quite a bit for a quilt! Would it surprise anyone to learn that my Dad was at the auction, and he was determined to outbid anyone. The bidding was pretty feisty, and at one point you had 3 determined people bidding! But my Dad wouldn't back down. He told me later that it was his quilt, and he wasn't going home without it! Is he great, or what?

What a wonderful story! I have tears in my eyes, and your Dad is indeed great! (And so are you.)

Alison

I agree with the color catcher idea. I once got red fabric fading out of a solid red & solid white quilt doing this.