I need to lighten fabric
 

I have some fabric (aged muslin by Marcus) that I want to lighten quite a bit. I used two packets of Rit color remover and it didn't make any difference at all. I've never had to lighten fabric before so I don't know exactly why it's not working - maybe I didn't use enough (washer load was extra small so I used the correct amount according to the directions) or maybe fabric can only be lightened so much and right now it's as light as it will get. Any idea as to why it wouldn't be working or is there another safe way to lighten fabric? I know bleach would probably work but that will also ruin the fabric and I don't want that to happen.

I've never heard of anyone wanting to lighten fabric before, unless it's a print fabric and then quilters may use the backside of the fabric. Can you hang it out in direct sunlight for a couple of days? Sorry, maybe someone else will have an answer for you.

Here are two tutorials I found. Never tried either one so I can't vouch for it.
I don't think bleach will ruin your fabric unless you leave it for too long.
Looks like you only need a few seconds. Good luck.

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2...ss-fabric.html

https://modalissa.com/2024/06/creati...leaching.html/

A mild bleach shouldn't hurt muslin -- they used STRONG bleach for undergarments and such back in the day.

You could also try some diluted lemon juice and sunshine, but that might be sort of streaky.

I have done quite a bit of dying fabric, as well as bleaching and tea/coffee etc. things.

The reason I want to lighten the fabric. - Last week at an estate sale I bought 2 packs (5" charm squares) of 1862 Battle Hymn by Barbara Brackman, a nice civil war fabric line from about 10-15 years ago. It's a darker fabric. I have some leftover Aged Muslin fabric from a project a few years ago that I really like and also need to use up. I thought the muted shades of this would go well with the Barbara Brackman fabric but they are med-dark and if I used as is there wouldn't be enough contrast. So . . . I thought I could lighten them up and everything would be great. But they won't lighten 🤔

I just took a test swatch of one of the fabrics and put it in a fairly strong bleach solution (50/50 with water) and let it soak for about 5 minutes. And the fabric did not change at all!! If that didn't work I don't think anything will. Way back when I first bought the fabric I was surprised at how much dye was lost when I prewashed it, it was a big difference.

From my experience dyeing protein fibers such as wool, I know that to simmer wool in an alkaline bath will remove dye. Cotton, however, is a cellulose fiber and needs a different agent. A quick search online suggested peroxide may work for you. I don't know if you would have to simmer the fabric in water with peroxide, but I would think that may be the preferred method, as heat may be required. You may want to do a search online for how to remove dye from cellulose fibers. There were several chemical agents suggested in my search, but it seems like peroxide would be the safest.

Did you wash your fabric before bleaching?

I will suggest OxyClean as it really brightens whites, maybe it will work on your muslin. Never tried it, just a guess.

One thing I can say, is it is almost impossible to match shades unless you do it a lot and/or are just really good! And you can't really tell when the fabric is wet, or at least I can't.