jaciqltznok

I don't have batiks that bleed!..mainly Hoffman and Princess Mirah...

jaciqltznok

yes, they are an addiction all their own!

CajunQuilter2

No helpful advise here but would love to see a picture of the quilt when finished. I love Batiks

Pepita

Batiks have a tighter weave because of the process it goes through. After the dying and the wax resist it is boiled to get the wax out. That tends to shrink the fabric. And that makes the weave tighter. Batiks are wonderful for applique. For applique you use a very fine straw needle, or a very fine (sharps I think)needle to sew the fabric. When sewing on the sewing machine, needles tend to put holes in the fabric, so use a fine sharp machine needle. If you use pellon, or some sort of adhesive to join the fabric, you will have small holes that will stay that way. See if you can live with that, or choose a looser weave. I think you will find there are different weights of batiks. Some are very light and others seem thick. I am sure it is because of the original fabric that they started with.

I think you are going to enjoy using batiks. They give a richness and texture to everything I have used them in.

Pepita

Oh, and when you finish your quilt, since you didn't prewash, wash it with Retayne, or I have heard throw in 5 or 6 of those color catcher sheets, in the wash. It will have the loose dye attach to it instead of your quilt. The Retayne should make it so it doesn't bleed again.

ghostrider

Retayne should never be used once fabrics have been sewn together or it will set loose dyes wherever they happen to land. It's for use before fabric is used, not after. Synthrapol is the one to use after the quilt has been made. It suspends loose dyes so they flow out with the wash water and don't settle on the quilt, similar to Color Catchers.

natalieg

They are very addicting!

Lori S

Hoffman 1895 ( the water color "batiks" ) are notorious bleeders as well as other Hoffman batiks. I have had Princess Mirah batiks that have bleed as well. Having sewn on literally easlliy a thousand yards of Hoffman batiks ... I would NEVER trust them not to bleed/or run. I have yet to find a manufacture that their batiks are absolutely not going to run/bleed.

teddysmom

If you hand piece and hand quilt, batiks are very difficult to needle--not user friendly!

Digitizingqueen

I love them have never had a problem sewing or long arming them -getting ready to make one myself in the next couple of days.....