I have a new pattern I want to get started on but it appears I chose the wrong color and fabric type combo. I want to do it in an assortment of red batiks but I'm having a heck of a time finding reds. I never realized the majority of batiks were in blues and greens, but that appears to be the case. I can find a few 1895's and mottles in reds but I want some with designs too. I have shopped several times with batiksplus.com and really like them, but their site is impossible to search by color so you have to click on each different fabric to see what colors it comes in. I gave up on that. I tried fabric.com, thousandsofbolts.com and HOP, but not very much on any of them. I'm gonna wait 'til this weekend and try my LQS and another quilt shop that's out of town. Hopefully between the two of them I can collect up enough reds and avoiding a bunch of shipping charges.

Hate to think I might have to change my plans. :P

Oops, this is in the wrong section. Mods can you move this please? :oops:

My LQS has some. I can give you web address if you wish~

check A THOUSAND BOLTS great selection good prices. no connection, just love the online store

i agree finding reds in batiks are very hard especially when you want more then 5 or 6 different shades.

i think its because red goes into a pink shade very quickly when doing a 6 step gradation.

Try hancocks-paducah.com. They have a huge selection of Batiks.

Also try www.fabricdepot.com they have a couple in the clearance section, a few in the Artisan Batiks by Lunn Studios area and a few more in the Tongas and the Island Batik section.

Try Seawatch Fabrics.

http://www.seawatchfabrics.com/

Hi, After you find your Red Batiks make a Extra effort to Set the dyes, I've also heard that salt/vinegar don't work to set the new dyes.
8-)

Try this website...http://www.quiltshops.com/ type in "red batiks" this is what I got," Your search for red batik returned 1859 items from 112 shops, page 1 of 39"

I don't know why there are so few in the stores. :D On page 4 of this website the tattered rabbit has a beautiful bright red.

Oh. My. Gosh. Thank you!!! What a fantastic site! I can see what I'll be doing at naptime today! :D

Try Batiktextiles.com, they may have what you need.

Lanny

This website is a lifesaver anytime you are looking for a particular fabric. Whether you do it by manufacturer,color or very specific, you can usually find what you are looking for. It has saved me tons of time in my searches. Hope you find what you are looking for. I too, love batiks. They make gorgeous quilts.

If you think searching for red is hard, try finding grey:< I'm talking grey with no brown, blue or other colors. Not an easy task!

OMG, I have TONS of red batiks and dearly love every single one. Keep looking for they are out there waiting for you!! :D

Here's Carley Mul's WebFabrics.net red fabrics:

http://www.webfabrics.net/cgi-bin/St...&product=bcred

I can report from experience what a reliable and helpful company they are. (For instance, I enjoy doing OBWs and the like. I can call and they will cheerfully check the length of a repeat on a fabric so I can calculate how much to order. I've also had help on choosing various fabrics to graduate across the depth or hues of a color. :-)

Here is a link to equilter.com's red batiks. Hope it is helpful.

http://www.equilter.com/cgi-bin/webc...32111204324.70

I forgot to add that their fabric is top quality and they are great to do business with. Very quick shipping, orders have always been correct. Prices are less than local shops selling the same brands. They also have some "exclusive" prints that you won't find anywhere else.

WOW!! Great site...love the red/black FQs. Have bookmarked!!

it is funny too because there are so many RED dyes available..I bought several yards of reds at the Dallas show because they are harder to find and I use them in a lot of holiday items!

when in doubt try sewbatiks.com, or batiksplus.com
sew batiks is my fave!

That is one cool web site; thanks for the link.

What's also interesting is that when there ARE reds, they are either pinky-purpley reds or orangey-peachy reds. VERY few true reds in batik. Must be a dye challenge (or cost).

I don't where you are finding unRED batiks, but I have some that are amazingly red, and they do not bleed!

I do know that when I dye my own, it is hard to get one that is not too orange or pink...you usually have to add a touch of black or brown or even blue to it to keep it TRUE red...

I have quite a few reds. I broke my fabric moratorium Saturday for a gorgeous one with Chrysanthemums at JoAnn's. Pricey, but I used my 40% coupon.

Um, she posted that she already checked with A Thousand Bolts. ;-)

Great place to find anything you need! :-D

I've used Synthrapol and Retayne on red batik and treated six times and still have bleeding. I have a bundle of red and white half yd cuts which are now red and pink. I always prewash all of my fabric, so I have no surprises later. My friend had to replace parts of the quilt she made for her sister after her sister washed it for the first time. (Always wash quilts in cool water with Orvus or Ivory dish soap for handwashing.)

Check these websites regarding bleeding (especially red):
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-5337-2.htm
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-94599-1.htm

Synthapol and Retayne - description and directions
http://www.prochemicalanddye.com/store/home.php?cat=323

Retayne: http://www.prochemical.com/direction...DF/Retayne.pdf

Info from an AQS quilt appraiser who spoke Monday at my guild meeting:
If you get blood on your quilt, use your own saliva to wet it. Then run under cold water. Make a gooey paste from a bar of fels naptha soap to wash out spot.

Washing the Quilt: A quilt should not be laundered unless absolutely needed. Washing a quilt every 6 months for 10 years will wear out the quilt.

Test spots of quilt for colorfastness using cold water. Wash bed quilt in clean bathtub. Place bedsheet in tub. Fill tub with lukewarm/cool water. Submerge quilt and soak for 10 minutes to open all the fibers in the batting. Agitate quilt with hands. Add Orvus quilt soap or Ivory dish soap (handwashing soap not dishwasher machine soap). Agitate quilt with hands. Push the quilt to the top of the bathtub to drain. Push out water by pressing against the side of the tub. Add water to tub and rinse until water comes clean. Push quilt to top of tub to drain. Lift the quilt out of the tub with the bedsheet. (Lifting without the sheet can break threads.)

In summer lay bedsheet outside on grass on a breezy 85 degree day. Put wet quilt right side down on sheet. Lay another sheet on top. Leave until mostly dry except for edges. finish drying in the house spread over a sofa/chair for 48 hours. Never agitate in washing machine. Don't put in dryer. You can let a quilt soak in the machine, add soap (Orvus or Ivory hand dish soap) and agitate by hand, spin out water, rinse, and spin out water. Just don't let it agitate. The judge said that spinning won't hurt the quilt.

The AQS quilt appraiser was Linda Honsberger. She is from Wisconsin. She gave two excellent programs (morning and evening meetings). I highly recommend her.

http://lindahonsberger.com/

Ebay has a lot of red batiks. Some really pretty ones.

Try this site: http://quiltshops.com/

You can search 200 quilt stores at once.

I love this site for their batiks and Asian fabrics. I try not to go there too often 'cuz I'm on a budget! :D

Try this place, it's all batiks. www.fabricfanatics.com

Rhonda

I know reds are difficult to find, so I brought back several from Bali. Send me a PM if interested.

Vinegar alone does work; no salt. I just tried it on a black print piece of fabric. Back in the '60s when madras plaids were so popular, instructions were to soak in vinegar water before washing. Anyway, I wash preparing for a tee shirt quilt class last Friday and we were instructed to rinse all of our FQ's in clear water until dye disappears. Not much problem with that but the black printed fabric I have for the outside border continued to fade with every rinse until I finally remember the old vinegar thing. So after about 8 rinses that were still coming out with dye, the next one with about 1/3 cup of vinegar did the trick and the water stayed cleared. I even super swished it around and still the water stayed clear. Never added salt, just vinegar.
Vernell in Austiin

OP said she tried Batiks plus in the original post not Thousands of Bolts.

Try batiks.com. The store is batiks etc and sew what fabrics, they have reds and when they are on sale they aer pretty good sales

Just a note on vinegar: it only works on some, but not all, acid dyes (mainly used on nylon, silk, and wool). Most cottons are colored with fiber-reactive dyes. Also be very sure to rinse vinegar out entirely or it will eat the fabric over time, like bleach does. Bleach and vinegar are both acids. The safest, surest, and best way to set dyes in fabric is with Retayne. It is specifically made for just that purpose.

I was just at a new LQS and their red batik selection was awesome...
Quilts and Friends in Roanoke In
260-676-2149
e-mail: [email protected]

XOXOXO Subee

Yellow and Gold are difficult too

have you tried quiltshops.com? they have many shops listed with many batiks.
Joann