I don't often wash my quilts right after they are finished, but as I mentioned last week, I washed and dried my
broken dishes quilt to get that lovely crinkle. I got the crinkle I was after, but I also discovered that the turquoise dye in one of the quilt blocks bled quite a lot. Ugh. There is a lot of red in the quilt, so I thought that it would be one of the red fabrics that would give me trouble. Nope. I discovered the issue AFTER I had dried the quilt in the drier. Blergh.
I shared a photo with my friend Mary, and she recommended using
this method to try to remove the excess dye. I was doubtful that it would help, but I thought I might as well give it a try. At this point, what did I have to lose?
I followed
Vicki's instructions, using "All Free and Clear" detergent. I'm very pleased to share that a LOT of the excess dye came out. Woohoo! Thanks so much to Vicki for sharing her methods and Mary for pointing me in the right direction!
I do want to add, that in the first washing I used cold water, 2 color catchers, a cup of vinegar AND I threw in a bath towel to absorb any excess dyes, should there be any bleeding. I also removed the quilt from the washer immediately after the washing, so I thought I was pretty well covered. (That's all my tricks and it still bled!)
I thought I would pass along this information, just in case you are in the same position someday. I hope you find it helpful, too!
28 comments:
Oh wow! Good save! I wouldn't have expected trouble after a cold wash and TWO color catchers! Beautiful quilt, and i LOVE the backing :D
I would like to know who made th fabric.
I know I'm probably in the minority here but what happened to you is the reason I prewash every fabric I buy. I'm glad Vicki's instruction worked for you because it is a beautiful quilt and it would have been sad if it had been spoiled from the dyes bleeding.
Ohh noooo, I haven't had that happen and I hope it never will but it is good to know there are some fixes available.
I am a prewasher too, mainly because most of my fabric is secondhand but I also do it with retail.
See ya in a couple of days for your once a month Friday linkup!
Thanks so much for your post. I would have cried for a week! I have never used vinegar in that first wash....hmmmm. I might try this too! Thanks againf or sharing. I love love love this quilt!
So happy to share whatever information I can to help save this beauty!!
So, crazy question. Would you wash a new quilt this way from the get go, to avoid having to go back and try to 'rescue' it? Asks the girl who is madly finishing a project with a lot of white in it.
(bolderbaker.at.gmail.dot.com)
I always pre-wash every fabric that comes into my house and I have used Vicki's methods for rinsing out my dyes ever since I discovered it. Her advice works!!!
Thanks for the info! Glad it worked out for you.
Love your Broken Dishes quilt!
Thanks for the advice. Whether it's quilts or clothes, lately I've had a lot more trouble with turquoise than red.
Vicki's remedy works! I have advised people to go to her site and read about it glad it worked for you
This is a great tip! So glad that pretty quilt could be salvaged. Thanks for sharing.
I always pre-wash all fabric except for pre-cuts and I worry about those sometimes. Just recently, I washed something dark with a yellow fat quarter and the dark black bled onto the yellow. I still can't get the dye out. But I'm glad it was only a fat quarter that got ruined. Good that you got most of the stain out. I will bookmark this solution.
Wow. Thanks for sharing!
Had you pre-washed your fabric? Im just curious. I hand washed a real coloured scarf yesterday and a ton of color came out. I was so glad I had not thrown it into the machine with another load. I love your quilt. It looks so cozy! You are Wonder Woman!
Oh, I hate when that happens. You can't prewash pre-cuts, so mostly I don't prewash. I've had that happen to me, too - even after cold washing, salt (to set the dye) and 4 or 5 color catchers. I had one quilt I just kept washing and washing and washing and finally the red came out!
I've successfully used Vicki's method to remove a red dye bleed from a kids quilt. Frtunately, I didn't have to leave it soak for as long as she recommends, because my tub wouldn't hold the water (I need to find a substitute stopper, I guess). Glad it worked for you as well.
Pat
So glad the excess dye came out. Do you wash all your fabrics before cutting? I don’t put anything in my sewing stash unless it is washed first. And if the fabric bleeds a lot, like some hand dyed fabrics, I use Retyane in the water and wash it again.
I had a similar problem with an orange fabric. The fabric had been prewashed but still bled. I had good luck using OxiClean. I filled the tub with cool water and added OxiClean. I soaked it for several hours and then washed it in the washing machine with more OxiClean, All Free and Clear and dye catchers. That saved the day.
I always use Vicki's method for soaking the quilt in hot water and Dawn free and clear after the quilt is completed (binding, label and all!) to remove any fugitive dyes. It really works! You have to make sure the whole quilt is below the water line, so using lids from large storage bins and then weighting those with large food storage containers filled with water is my method. After I squeeze out the excess water and it runs clear, I just run it through the rinse and spin cycle in my washing machine, then put it in the dryer on low heat. Never had an issue with any running dyes or needing to pre-wash!
Disheartening to think that even with all those cautions, the colours still ran. But good to know further tricks to help with it and actually the bit of teal showing looks pretty in this very pretty quilt, imo.
I've had blues bleed, too... one of the reasons I always prewash every piece of fabric I buy. Fabric comes into the house, downstairs to the laundry room,then stacked on the dryer until I have time to wash it. I've done this since the 1970s, when I made most of my clothes (and started quilting). When I'm in the mood to start a new quilt, I know that every piece of fabrics on my shelves is washed, pressed, and ready to cut. And my quilts still get that "crinkly" texture after they're washed.
Thanks for sharing the tip... I wear a lot of colored cottons, and have had problems with colors bleeding. And I will share your post with my guild and weekly sewing group.
Question to all: I have a front load washer - so no soaking. (The wash 'tub' doesn't fill with water.) Has anyone done this successfully in a bath tub?
Very lovely quilt - hurrah for the save!
Melody Srygley, the link to the instructions says to use the bathtub, so you are good to go.
I never had this problem until I bought a washer that doesn't allow you to adjust the amount of water you use. You need LOTS OF WATER to wash a quilt for the first time. Now I keep a bucket right next to my washer and add two buckets full once the machine thinks it has enough water. Also using colorfast and vinegar. Amanda, these tips are great in case I ever have the problem again. Thank you for sharing them.
Oh my, after your warning, I am working on a piece of teal fabric I just bought. I am already a pre-washer, but it's in its FIFTH wash and still saturating the color-catchers. YIKES!
You can wash precuts - just put them in a lingerie bag.
Oh, what a shame! How great that you found a solution. I rarely pre-wash my fabrics (except for reds!) so this is good information. Thanks!
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