Hi everyone - Normallly I do not wash my fabrics before I make a quilt and have had no problems with that approach. I am concerned about batik fabrics though and am about to work on first batik quilt. I hear they shrink and bleed. I bought a pattern that require Bali pops, which are precut 2 1/2 inch strips. I'm worried if I wash the strips that the will fray and get smaller. Any thoughts on this? I'd appreciate any input I can get.

:D

I, myself, wouldn't wash them only because of their size.

You might try taking a fairly damp white cloth and rubbing it on them to check for bleeding. Or you could try washing and drying one of them and see how much it shrank. You can always use a color catcher when you wash your quilt the first time too if you are worried about bleeding :D

What about rinsing them out by hand in the sink to get rid of the excess dye? then laying them out flat to dry. Just a thought, then they wouldn't ravel
Sharon

How about hanging them on the shower rod to dry?

I thought it might be a good idea to put them in the sink, rinse in cold water, and let them air dry. I had that thought after I posted, so it's apparant that great minds think alike!! Ha ha.

Thanks everyone for your input and help.

Haven't done it yet. I'll post it when I do the rinse!

Fray check might help you and definitely use the color catcher. Good luck!

I've never heard of a color catcher before. Will it be at my lqs, or Joanne's?

You can get it at Joann's or you can get it by the Shout stain remover at your local super market.

a color catcher is in the laundry isle . good batiks should not bleed and I don't see how they can shrink after all the dyeing, waxing, heating and rinsing that is involved in the process.

If you cut off tiny (quarter inch) corners, that should help them avoid fraying. Two of the corners will be on the selvedge edge, so you won't lose any fabric on that side and the other two corners will be from the folded centre of the fabric, but there will be such a little bit of wastage, I don't think you would notice it.

You might put like colors in an old pillow case and fold over a couple of times then pin with rust proof safety pins. Then put in to wash and dry. I have done this with scraps of materials but not strips. Scraps have turned out okay.

I've made quilts using the Bali Pops and they didn't run or anything. Actually, things turned out wonderfully and I and the recipients were very pleased. Because I like to wash all my fabric, I gentle soaked the finished top (before I quilted it) because I had presoaked the batting & backing. None of the colours bled nor did the tops shrink or lose their shape.

I've quilted with batiks and have not found them to bleed. If you are worried about it make your quilt and then purchase some Color Catcher sheets, and wash your quilt. Some are put out by Shout. At one time Woollite made some. I used them with almost every load of wash. When I wash fabrics I always put one in the wash. Wal-Mart carries the Shout brand.

I have not found Bali fabrics to bleed. I don't normally pre-wash unless it is flannel or a really deep red. I do wash everything with a color catcher before it goes out the door. I would not pre-wash the bali-pops, you don't want them to shrink less than the 2 1/2 they are wide, especially if you are using one of those "strip" patterns.

Oh, and welcome to the board from Southern California

I think with all the colors that are in bali prints - if they did bleed you probably wouldn't notice.

I think you could put them in a hosiery washing mesh bag and was them without any problems. I had a really pretty deep orange that I wanted to use in a floral applique and I tested it and it just kept bleeding so I am really careful about any dark batiks. By the way, that was from a major manufacturer so it was not a cheap batik. Good luck. Just put like colors in each bag as you wash them.

I have not washed my fabrics prior to using them. All have been wall quilts with the exception of a batik quilt I am now using on my bed, which has not been washed yet.
I have started to wash/dry my fabrics before putting them in 10 gallon ziplocs, and none of the batiks have bled.
Also, I have not had a problem with any of the batiks fraying. Due to the strip size, I do think I would hand wash if you are going that route.