Quilt Fabric Color Bleed 101: Tips For Quilters!
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- Over the past couple of years I have experience more and more fabric bleed when making and taking care of my quilts. In this video, I give you basic information regarding fabric bleed, some tips for helping to prevent it, and suggestions on what to do when a quilt has bled. I hope you find it helpful!
Amazon Affiliate Links:
Retayne
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Color Catchers 72 Sheets
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Quilt Soap By Quilters Rule
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Other resources you might find interesting:
Colorways by Vicki Welsh
www.colorwaysb...
What is Bleeding-Definition and Explanation at textileglossary.com
Video by Man Sewing
Retayne or Synthrapol: Prevent and Reverse Color Bleeding
• Retayne or Synthrapol:...
I have been prewashing my fabric for years. A lot of quilters telling me it is a waste of time, but it my time, not theirs. So far I have been successful using a tablespoon of Dawn dishwashing soap and color catcher sheets. I do not over fill the washing machine with too much fabric. As I said before I always prewash, but especially fabric for Quilts of Valor.
Definitely do what works for you! I am considering pre washing!
Oh boy! This is right in my wheelhouse. First of all, thank you for this video that will inform quilters at large about the do's and don't of dye migration. Secondly, to introduce myself, I'm in no ways an expert. However, for 12 years, I owned a business where I dyed fabrics and embroidery threads for quilt shops. This was to allow my husband to retire early. So we did a LOT of research before taking this on. We had to invest a fair amount of money, and we wanted to make sure our customers were going to be able to use our fabrics without worry. So the research showed that there are 2 main classes of dye used by fabric manufacturers. The first is Fibre reactive dye, which are most often used by manufacturers due to their washfastness. The second class of dye is called Direct dye. It's less expensive but is lightfast. But we wash our quilts, and I figured if that was what our quilt shop fabrics are generally dyed with, that was the class I would choose. After my fabrics were dyed and ready for marketing, I always included a little blurb to tell quilters how to deal with bleeding fabric. First of all, with Fibre Reactive dyes, if the dyed goods were left to soak OVERNIGHT in bathtub water that was hot to start with a good dollop of Synthrapol or Dawn Blue, the excess dye molecules have TIME to bond with the water, thus the name 'fiber reactive'. They need plenty of water and time. So, as you found out, washing a completed quilt in the bathtub overnight was exactly the right thing to do. BTW, a great source for information on dyeing etc., can be found on www//ProChemical&DyeInc.com I wanted to add that Retayne should ONLY be used on yardage,not a completed quilt. I know people generally don't want to prewash in the excitement of starting g a new project or using precut. One disaster generally fixes that. And as an aside, fusibles work way better on prewashed fabrics. And yes, I found this out by ...what? Reading the directions, LOL. Imagine that!😂
Thank you so much for this information and for sharing this resource!
Great info!
Great info! Thx so much for taking the time to share!
Thank you so much for this wonderful video. I just finished longarming a customer's red and white top with a white backing. On the last row I was trying to ease in some fullness in the border by spritzing water on that particular area. And wouldn't you know it, it bled. I immediately went to utube and searched several sites. None of those sites even came close to your video I received this morning. God's timing is perfect! Now I will proceed with the information you provided. Thanks again.
Best of luck!
Oh boy, do I love this? The colors are great. I’m working on a black and gray quilt.
Retayne is to stop fabric bleed at the beginning of process Synthrapol is after a bleed occurs. It removes the stain. I've seen it work.
Thanks for sharing!
I am very new at quilting but sewed a lot for my kids when they were small. Every quilt I have made…I pre-washed my fav=bric and thank God I did….I remember a dark red fabric for a quilt for my father-in-law. As I was washing the fabric by hand in the sink….the water ran red…Color catchers fixed the problem but don’t think only one will do. I used 3, one for every yard and I also put in a cup of vinegar. When I was a kid, my Mom, who also sewed, used vinegar and salt to set colors, no Color Catchers available back then…..but the ladies quilted and sewed up a storm.
I am seriously am considering pre washing.
Michelle, your blue legs comment reminded me of many years ago experience with a coworker. He called into work that he was in the Emergency Room because he had woken up blue all over.
When he came into work, he explained that the problem was that he had new dark blue sheets on his bed, had showered, and went to bed immediately after showering. He woke up blue. LOL!!
That is hilarious! Thanks for sharing!!!!
I am 72 years I don't remember if this was true or if this was an old wife's tale. But back in the day when I used to sew, I prewashed my material with vinegar in the water. I was always told that vinegar set the colors. Have you ever heard of this?
No I have not heard of that.
My Mother used to do that. I have not tried it, thanks for the reminder!
I was taught that back in the day also
Because I tend to sew in darker colors I have used 3 color catchers in with my quilts. I feel like the quality of our quilting yardage is much less than it used to be even while the price is steadily going up. It seems like I might need to increase my number of the catchers however. I wash in cool water but that didn’t protect me totally. After hours spent making a project and money spent I don’t want to ruin it. I have begun washing all my quilts after finished. I don’t pre starch or normally pre wash my yardage unless it is a thrift store or yard sale purchase. I have had a red bleed onto my ironing board in the past. I used to do a lot of counted cross stitch and learned to check for color fastness as the thread bled frequently. That was a painful lesson to learn as I didn’t know about color catchers in those days. Not even sure if they had it then. I have gone to the earth breeze soap sheets. Don’t know how they are going to work. I grew up sewing garments and never experienced bleeding of clothing I made. This is a great informative video. Thanks for your thought and time. Hope your summer is going well and you are having a great rest.
Thank you for watching and taking the time to share your comments!
I grew up sewing clothing too and never had a bleeding problem either.
I am a prewasher except when working with precuts. Even with prewashing, I still use color catchers after the quilt is finished. I had people send me quilt blocks for assembly for Patriotic quilts and not knowing if they prewashed or not, I used color catchers and still had red bleed. I caught it before drying,so washed again using color catchers and using an oxi additive, bleed removed after I’d washed. I have also experienced dye bleed from thread. I quilted a Patriotic themed quilt using a red thread and had a red shadow next to all the stitching. That bleed I could not get out. Very informative video. Thank you for the time you put in to help other quilters.
Thank you so much for watching and sharing this information!
Thanks for your video. This was very helpful. I prefer to prewash but when using precuts I will piece the top and then wash it in cold water and delicate cycle. This has worked well for me.
@@CarolynAndrews-fd2ki Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so very much Michelle for this great video. I'm less than 2 years into quilting but have already had experience with fabrics bleeding that were quilt shop quality. I now keep Color Catchers, Retayne and Synthrapol in my laundry room. Unfortunately, I was piecing a block with red and white fabrics and sprayed a little water while setting a seam and the red bled right through to the white. I tried Synthrapol but no luck. Project ruined! I did wash that fabric several times with color catchers, Retayne and even Synthrapol so I finally gave up. Now I always prewash reds, purples and dark/navy blue fabrics with Retayne and Color Catchers before I begin cutting my yardage. I've also learned to zig zag the cut edges to reduce fraying during the prewash cycle.
Thank you for sharing!!!
Thank you for taking the time to research this issue. Great information!
Glad it was helpful!
This video, plus the fantastic notes from viewers, are quilting gold! I'm still beginner level. Thank you, Michelle, and your viewers!
You are so welcome!
Hi! My mom was a wonderful seamstress, and I grew up watching her soak new fabric in salt water. I wish I had paid more attention to specific amounts used though! I don’t quilt (yet!😊) but if I get new or used clothes I try to run part of them under hot water with the sink plug in to see if they run. If they do, I fill the sink with tepid water and pour anywhere from 1/4c to a full cup of salt in. I seem to recall hearing that doing this ‘sets the colour’- and I’ve heard it referred to as ‘colour-staying’.
I run it under cold water for a long time to rinse it well. Then I fill the sink with tepid water again , and if I see even the slightest colour bleed, I add the salt again and repeat. If it’s a single item of solid colour you can repeat until the water runs clear.
I was so upset when I washed an old, old antique crazy quilt I had bought at an auction. I put it in warmish water and came back minutes later to see a disaster happening (I hadn’t added salt) and obviously, despite it’s age, I don’t think it had ever been washed (although it didn’t seem overly dirty).
I just ‘assumed’ that because of it’s age that it would have been washed 🤷♀️but I don’t think it had been.
There was a deep moss green that ran, and a beautiful burnt orange backing that bled into the water as well. I immediately drained it - (we didn’t have Dawn then!), refilled the sink with cold water and dumped an entire box of salt in- and the colour was still bleeding!!! I don’t know how many times I re-did it….but I think the fact that it had a heavy wool felt liner in between probably soaked up the colour when I first put it in, which is why it took so long to get the colour ‘stayed’. A number of the fabrics on the quilt were thick, textured, almost upholstery-like fabrics made of a variety of materials such as velvet and brocade, that also held colours much more than a thin cotton fabric would.
Unfortunately, the beautiful deep burnt orange faded to more of an faded reddish-orange, and some of the vibrant colours on the front weren’t quite as vibrant, as the green had cast the very faintest tinge on everything, but it’s still beautiful!
I’m in Canada and have never seen the Shout colour catchers here, but hopefully we’ll get them soon!
I have been using Dr. Oetker’s Colour Catchers for a few years now and they are amazing! I’ve even put them in with white loads- and they come out grey!!! I sometimes even save them to re-use- and they work- so why not save some money, right! I’ve put ones that have turned pink into dark loads- and they turn dark, so obviously they’re still working somewhat! I just don’t do that with anything I’m concerned about of course! But I do throw them in with things I’ve previously colour-stayed with salt just for reassurance.
I was surprised that you didn’t mention colour-staying with salt- and I’d be interested to know if other people use this method or not!
Patti
Great post! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Michelle! Great information! I agree with your findings and have had similar experience as you. I do much the same as you. I don't prewash but I do starch. I always test fabrics that I think will be a "runner or bleeder" - which is especially true for batiks and solid colors like red and green. 🙂I ALWAYS wash my quilts in cold water (with Woolite on gentle cycle, and dry on low or air fluff immediately after the cycle ends) before gifting. I will use Synthropol or Retain if I suspect bleeding (by testing), I ALWAYS use color catchers and I ALWAYS include washing instructions and color catchers when gifting. I have read suggestions of using vinegar or salt to help color setting fabric - but honestly - Synthropol and Retain are dye fixatives made for this... so. I would like add - there are so many factors that go into color fastness - you have covered a lot of them. One other is that color can be generated with pigments OR dyes; and we can't know which was used by the manufacturer. Pigments are more expensive but hold up better to light exposure and sometimes with water fastness. Dyes tend to be less hardy and can bleed more and fade faster. But! There are tons of variables in the process - so all we can do is check when we are concerned and take appropriate precautions; all of which you have noted. Again - thanks for the brilliant video! 😍
Thank you so much for your comments!!! Thanks for washing and sharing!
Perfect timing. I'm about to start a quilt with a lot of black fabric. Thanks for all the great advice!
You are most welcome !
I have a wool pressing mat. I cover it with a white cotton cloth. As I am pressing and pre- starching fabric I can see if there are any bleeds. I have a friend who pins color catchers directly to any suspect fabrics.
Thanks for watching and sharing!
A lot of really good information - very interesting - and I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. I read a lot of FB about quilters having all the same issues and everyone has a story about what they did to try and fix the problem. I am really surprised because in 25 years I've only ever had one issue. I have odor sensitivity & asthma so I have always pre-washed all my fabric in hypo-allergenic detergent, cold water. I tend to mostly use Quilt Shop quality fabrics but do sometimes mix in box store fabrics too. I do not use color catchers and even though the water is red or purple (or what ever color the fabric is) I the color has never migrated onto other fabrics. I do tend to wash darker fabric and lighter fabric separately but will sometimes wash them together if the load isn't that full.
Sixteen years ago I inherited my sister's fabric and was pretty certain it had not been pre-washed. It was small scraps and fairly old so I didn't wash any of it. I made the quilt & used a large piece of her fabric for the back. I *thought* about washing the backing but didn't - it felt really odd to the touch, not stiff exactly, but just weird. I don't think it was 100% cotton. I wash all my completed quilts before gifting so if there is an issue I can address it rather than the recipient. Well, some of the color from the front of the quilt stained the backing fabric in just a few spots.
The quilt had a large border so my resolution was to cut off all the binding, removed the quilting and used a new backing fabric that I knew had been washed. I re-washed the quilt and had no further issues. If any of the fabrics on the front bled, the dye did not adhere to the new backing fabric. I have never had any other issues before or since so maybe water quality, detergent, etc. have all been factors in my favor.
Pre-washing maybe the key! Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you so much, Michelle! Your video is very helpful & contains lots of practical information.
Thank you!
What a mess! As expensive as quilt fabric is I think these fabric manufacturers should address this problem and tell us, the consumer, how to handle it instead of just continuing to raise the prices of quilt shop fabrics. In my opinion, I think we should all start sending complaint letters/emails to them instead of just accepting it.
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!
@@thesimplequilter7499 When you find quilt shop quality non-colorfast fabric, do you report it back to the quilt fabric shop? If they start getting a lot of feedback from customers, they will pass it on to the fabric reps selling the brand name fabric. Maybe also refuse to order certain lines or companies. If enough quilt shops do this it will get back to the manufacturers.
Quilters should also complain to the manufacturers, and ask for color-fastness warnings on the selvage, just like warnings not rated for sleepwear.
Thank you so mych for doing the research for us on this issue!😊
You are most welcome!
Wonderful information on #fabricbleeding. Being a quilter from the stone age😂 I knew some of this info but you have dug deep into bleeding, preventing and repair. This tutorial is a keeper! ❤I love fabric and will probably never stop buying it! Thanks Michelle great great tutorial!🐝🌻🐛🌻🐝🌻🐛🇺🇸
Thanks Fern!
Good Wednesday morning! It’s always so nice to see you & learn from your experiences, etc. THANK YOU!❤️🇺🇸❤️
You are so welcome!
Thanks for sharing this information!!
You are welcome!
I prewash with a few Color Catchers. If the color catchers come out really dark, I wash it again with a cup of vinegar. Sometimes with saturated colors like red, deeper blues and greens i put vinegar in the first time.
Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you for all the great advice on washing your Quilts!
You are most welcome!
What a wonderfully informative show! Thanks so much for the information. In my 40 years of quilting I have had 3 major color bleeds and in 2 of those it was from the backing (hot pink and dark navy).I use the shout strips religiously when washing my quilts the first time. And I have used retaine on individual fabrics before piecing. But the use of soaking in dawn/water was new to me and I will add that to my bags of tricks! Thanks again
You are most welcome!
Great Tips. I follow a lot of the practices. With searching for facts this is about what i have found. What a great research project for the universities that have textile programs or museums. I use dawn dishwashing soap to soak my fabric that i dye. I use dishpans from the dollarstore. I soak like colours together in hot tap water and dawn. And soak for several hours. Then i repeat until the water is clear. I haven't done this with my purchased fabric, but i do prewash in the washing machine. I think i will add the colour catchers to my routine. And soak the store bought fabric as well as per my routine of my hand dyes. Yes, it takes time. But so does all the other steps of quilting. Re vinagar. The only place I would use vinegar is if a particular dye calls for it. There are so many dyes available. None of the products I have used to dye cotton fabric calls for vinegar.
Companies you buy dye powder sell detergents for washing fabrics specifically for washing fabrics. Dharma Tradeing, Prochemical in the USA and G&S dye in Canada all sell such soap. We put so much care into our making. Our quilts deserve to have pre care and aftet care too!.
Great post! Thank you for sharing!
Great information, thanks.
You are most welcome!
I don't usually prewash or test purchased fabric from quilt shops. However, the quality of the fabric is reduced in recent years, in my opinion. Even the more expensive brands fray and bleed excessively like cheaper big box fabric.
I prestarch or use a sizing spray on my fabric prior to cutting. And always wash the quilt in warm water with at least 3 color catcher sheets. If there is any discoloration, I wash again with more color catcher sheets. And I remove quilts promptly from the front loading washer. And give the recipients a few color catcher sheets to use for the first washing.
I have not had a serious fabric bleed issue but a quilt my mother received was washed in hot water and strong detergent by a nurse aide and the purple bled all over it. And it was put in a hot dryer which set the stains.
I agree that quality fabric manufacturers should stand behind the colorfastness of their products. Or risk losing consumers. Red and blue were typical colors that could bleed but no fabric color or manufacturer is safe.
Great informative video on the issue and suggested prevention and solutions.
Thank you for sharing! I really enjoyed your post!
I think we've all had blue legs from jeans in our youth!
Great info in this video. I think you're right that there is probably a lack of research into the matter, not just for quilting but for textiles generally, textile design and hand made dyed fabrics. I wonder if the subject is broached in University curriculums?
As I use garments and reclaim the fabric, I always wash them if soiled, shop soiled and especially bright reds.
Thank goodness for colour catchers. I always include some when gifting a quilt and give washing instructions.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experiences.
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for such great information and insight.
You are most welcome!
Thanks for sharing. Learned a lot.
You are most welcome!
I prewash all fabric (except jelly rolls and charm squares, which I starch) in hot water to get maximum shrinkage. I add Synthrapol for all fabrics except white and light beige. I put in a couple Color Catchers just to see if any color comes out of the fabric; it usually does. Recently I also began to treat my dark reds with Retayne. It’s hard to follow the directions because I’m worried about putting that high of a temperature of water into my washing machine, and my machine doesn’t have a cycle that agitates that long. I haven’t tested the fabrics for color fastness after the Retayne treatment. I’ll follow your advice to do that before I use them. Modern Quilt Studio (experts Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle) has two videos on UA-cam - “Should I Prewash Fabric?” There are two parts. They discuss Synthrapol and Retayne. Never use these two products in the wrong order. Great video. I’m glad you showed the actual bleeding. I have a Jacob’s Ladder quilt that my mother made using a dark red for some small squares. The red bled into the beige background fabric. I got most out with a Synthrapol wash, but the hand quilting lines are still a little pink. I’ve washed that quilt a number of times, and the Color Grabbers still come out pink.
Thank you do much for sharing this information!!
This was some great information. I do use color catchers when I'm washing fabric that I think will bleed although I don't prewash all my fabric. I'm making a bunch of quilts for Christmas gifts and although I don't usually wash before giving, but I was thinking that this time I would. I do usually include color catchers when I gift a quilt. How big a piece of fabric do you think you should use when testing for colorfastness?
I used a pretty big piece…at least 1/8 of a yard
I noticed that as quilting cotton has become more in demand it has gone up in price and down in quality. I have seen clothing quality decline too. I always prewash everything not just because of bleeding but because of all the chemicals they use on the fabrics. There are more chemicals used in fabrics and clothing these days. Anti fungal for shipping, pre-dye chemicals, finishing, sizing, dyes etc. Many chemicals are carcinogenic or can trigger allergies. Pre-washing is good for your health and those you give your creations to.
Thanks so much for sharing! Great points!
This rarely happened before the modern fabric era of Retayne and colorfast processing. Because of the economy recession from covid and now inflation, mostly because of much higher energy prices, are we getting shrinkflation in supposedly top-quality fabric. It looks and feels the same, but lacks colorfastness, is this because of skimping on textile processes to decrease costs and not increase prices proportionately?
I hope not…
When I give a quilt I think will bleed I gift a box of color catchers with directions for when they wash it.
That is such a great idea! I used to put a color catcher in a card with instructions when I gifted a quilt; however, one is not enough. Gifting a entire box is a great idea!
One of our local quilters found out that their expensive Italian thread also bled.
I can believe it!
Sorry you have had problems with bleeding. I have not had that problem before. I do not prewash or starch my fabric. Once the quilt is finished, I wash it in cold water and dry it in the dryer. I always tell them to wash in cold water.
I’m so glad you have not had any difficulty.
Did anybody say something about 1 cup viviparous in first wash/rinse? All the cotton fabrics Ive had bleed . Blue jeans especially.
I don’t think so.
When submerging quilt in tub of water w Dawn soap, do you use cold/warm/hot water? Thanks for sharing such helpful tips!!
Cold
I use white vinegar.
Thanks for sharing!
I heard vinegar will fix the dye
Thanks for sharing!
In all the years I've been sewing, I've never ever had fabric bleed. I get my fabric only from quilt stores.
I think why I've overcome this problem entirely is because I wash my fabric ahead of time. When fabric is stored in a warehouse, was that warehouse sprayed for pests? If so I don't want to be touching that pest spray with my skin. And if that warehouse was not sprayed then I could be bringing insect eggs into my sewing studio that could contaminate my other fabric. Not to mention that too many modern dyes are toxic so you want as much washed out as possible.
I pile a whole bunch of fabric, all dark colors at the same time, and use hot water, All Free and Clear detergent, and 2 color catchers. Then dry in a hot dryer, pulling the fabric out and laying it flat before it cools off to reduce the need for ironing. That's my entire secret.
As someone that's also dabbled in dying fabric using natural dyes and mordants, adding salt to the wash for older dye types and natural dyes does help keep them from bleeding - but this does not work on the modern day chemical dyes.
Modern indigo dyes can be made from formaldehyde, aniline and hydrogen cyanide. Some azo dyes are carcinogenic. These dyes can easily be absorbed by your skin resulting in skin and eye irritations among other things. Coal tar is used in making other modern dyes too.
So, wash your fabric, your body will thank you.
I thought I was the only one that did it exactly as you do. I'm tired of so many quilting videos from quilters saying "I never prewash, no need to" and never say why. I prewash precuts in lingerie mesh bags, especially if have dark colors, deep blues, and reds.
Thank you for your informative comment on dye chemicals.
I think we may be fabric sisters lol. I wash EVERYTHING. I even use All Free and Clear because I have very sensitive skin. We never know where that fabric has been or what they use to manufacture it. As soon as I bring my fabric home, I wash and dry it. I don't starch until right before I am going to use it. Glad to see I'm not alone in the prewash world.
Thank you so much for sharing! Great info!
@@marinaabad4995 You're welcome.
And so you know, I also use mesh bags to wash precuts. But I wash them in the sink instead of a washing machine. I have a small sink plunger dedicated to washing garments. If I wash/rinse them in the sink they don't fray as much...or seem to shrink as much.
@@ingridhunt7841 We are indeed fabric sisters! I do the same as you for the washing and the starching!
Why spend more $ for quilt shop fabric. I buy all mine at JoAnn’s and online.
That is all personal preference. I think quilters should buy what they want and from where they want it. Enjoy!
I use Retayne with ALL my fabric that is not white/cream or very light. And I have never had fabric bleed. Be especially wary of reds. They almost always bleed!
Thanks for watching and sharing!
I found that batiks bleed the hard way.
Oh no!!!
Why are you paying so much money for fabric that bleeds? This was not an issue years back. Makes you wonder what steps the manufacturers are leaving out all to save a few pennies!
Yes it does!