nannyrick

I just read the thread on bleeding fabric and the fixes for them. I would like to know about Batik. I just ordered a lot of precuts and now I,m wondering, since you can't wash precuts, do I have to worry? How about mixing them with white backround fabric? Can all you experts chime in with some advice. Thanks in advance. Elaine

Nammie to 7

One of the LQS tells me they never prewash anything - just give some color catchers to whoever gets the quilt to use when it is washed and they've never had a problem.

PaperPrincess

I hand wash precuts in the sink. like colors together. Hot-ish water & a few drops of laundry detergent. Swish a bit, then rinse. I put them in a salad spinner. I have line dried them, layed them on the counter and also dried them in the dryer in a lingerie bag.
Watch the wash and rinse water for shed dye.

Prism99

I wash the finished quilt in a *large* washing machine that uses a lot of water (domestic front-loaders do not use enough water; laundromat front-loaders do) with Synthrapol. Synthrapol suspends unset dye particles in the water so they do not settle into other fabrics.

It's risky to wash or soak precuts because of potential shrinking. Once quilted, fabric shrinkage is not such a problem because the batting controls shrinkage. It's okay to prewash or presoak if you can deal with the potentially different shrinkage rates from prewashing or presoaking. This might require adjustments to seam allowances, for example, if the pattern requires exact finished dimensions. For something like a jelly roll quilt, variations in fabric shrinkage wouldn't matter.

NikkiLu

Oh dear - my experience with batiks is that almost all of them bleed. The darker, brighter the color - the worse that it bleeds. I hand washed/swished mine - folded - in my pure white kitchen dish pan and then rolled them up on thick towels and then line dried them. I actually had to throw away two of them - bled like an octopus. Did not want to risk putting them into a quilt.

Grandma Peg

Washed a yellow batik with my lights and had yellow whites. Always learn from my mistakes.

mom-6

I've not had a problem with batiks. Guess I've been lucky. Denim on the other hand. . .

Tartan

I usually test fabrics that I suspect will bleed. I take a scrap and wash it in the sink with warm/ hot water and lay it on a white paper towel to dry. If there is any colour in the water or colour transfer onto the paper towel I want to know before putting it in a quilt.

tessagin

I washed a batch of pre-cuts the other day but I put them in lingerie bags on perma press cycle then threw them into the dryer. I do the same with all my fabric. Even in the lingerie bags they will tangle so I separate them, then put them back into the bag and dry. I have also used old white pillow cases. I just tie them shut or pin them shut. sometimes, i'll lay them on a towel on the ironing board to dry then run the iron across in one fell swoop.

Scissor Queen

It really isn't about fabric bleeding. It's about fabrics picking loose dye up. And even when a fabric picks loose dye up out of the wash it still isn't set. You'd have to do something to that dye to set it.