Setting colors......

Sorry, Julie. It looks like all of our pre-wash group is out getting ready for back-to-school. There are better ways to check for bleeding potential but I'm not a member of the Wash First club; my quilts are going to have a busy life and a little dye weeping around won't make much difference. Meanwhile, you could cover your kitchen counter with an old white sheet, wet any charms that looks suspicious to you and place them to dry on the sheet. You'll quickly see which are well-behaved and which are going to need treating - if any. I don't think the salt idea even works on denim, it didn't for me. Polly

Well, I am a pre washer just cause that is the way I have always done it. I just was wondering as I read this new thread how often new fabrics run or bleed? Since I bought a Beyer red maybe 10 years ago I am not sure if anything has run but a patch on a vintage top. Are new colors set better? Is anyone buying new fabric that is running?

If you want denim that really hold the color get a touch of man made fiber al> Sorry, Julie. It looks like all of our pre-wash group is out getting ready

YES! I bought a "grab bag" from a local small chain, basically approx a yard of matching fabrics, I had in blue in the mix that ran terribly. I've also been doing the Northcott block of the month, one of the fabrics from May (iirc), ran slightly.

The lady at the shop told me to use a cup of vinegar in the wash to set them, I haven't tried that yet, I also bought some dye catcher sheets, which I will throw in when I was a completed quilt.

Cheers Anne

No it does not. Neither does vinegar, washing soda, asprin, alum, or a gum rubber eraser, unless the fabric was badly dyed to begin with in which case the washing soda may help on cottons. Some of those will help rinse out any dye left in that should not have been, but they won't set it so that it stays instead of washing out. If you soak fabric and it bleeds, odds on are that it will bleed again when it is washed. I usually wash any yardage that comes into my hands as a matter of course. The only exceptions are bolts, where I wash as I cut, and bitty bits. It is not just bleeding, but shrink that I fret over. I was gifted with a bunch of unwashed 5 inch squares in red, blue, and animal prints, and darned if I know what to do with them. I imagine I shall have to sew them up and hope for the best. Since I have had work ravaged by uneven shrink (greens are cursed I tell you!) just from being washed and dried at an alien laundry, I am expecting the worst. Hopefully I will be plesantly surprised.

NightMist actually did have somebody once argue quite forcefully that a gum rubber eraser in a hot wash would set color in fabric.

The dye catcher sheets always seem to pick up a fair amount of color, no matter what brand of fabric. Reds and blacks are always tricky, and some blues. But sometimes I wash without a color catcher, and don't see any color transfer. Maybe it's just luck, but OTOH it might be that the loose dyes aren't sticking to the other fabric. Of course lights and darks get separated for washing. Mostly I don't worry (but do always prewash -just think where it's been!) And as Polly says, the occasional bleeder is no big deal. I use all sorts of scraps that people send me, so no point getting too bothered. Roberta in D, Queen of the Scrap Heap

"Taria" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:52Sui.8295$MT3.6426@trnddc05...

I prewash everything with Retayne, available at your LQS.

And I'm glad I do, as I have had some deep blues and intense reds run before I knew about Retayne!

Martha

Old style dyes could be 'set' somewhat with salt or vinegar. Today's dyes not so much. It depends on the fabric and the dye, but most fiber reactive dyes lose the ability to "dye" after a certain length of time. However, contact transfer of color can always happen. That is when wet fabric sits on fabric, and the color moves from one to another. So you can have fabric that looses color into the water which generally doesn't transfer to another fabric, and a "Color Catcher" can take care of that type of thing, and you can have fabric that doesn't bleed color into the water but transfers if it sits on, or another fabric sits on it. Best thing to do there is not let wet fabrics sit. To set dyes, and to help remove excess dye, there are two products available at many quilt shops.... Synthropol and Retayne. Synthropol helps remove excess dye, and is used for washing just dyed fabrics. Retayne helps set color so that it stays bright. But they don't work on all fabrics/colors/dyes. There are far too many variables to be certain of anything.... fabric preparation, dyes used, mordants used, and so on. So the best you can do is whatever you can do and hope for the best. The suggestion of rinsing and setting the swatches on something like white paper towels to dry is probably one of the best. No need to use salt or vinegar, but you may if you wish. But do use hot water.

Have fun, Pati, in Phx

Julie Marie wrote:

Yes. Lots of colors bleed. Red, burgundy, black, blue, and dark green are the worst offenders, although in all cases some will bleed and some won't. IME over-dyes all bleed, and so do true solids. Some prints bleed too.

I've learned the hard way that some of the finishes put on today's fabrics can seal in the color until detergent removes the finish. This means that a fabric might pass the plain water and white cloth test, but bleed horribly during the first real wash. I don't trust any fabric until I wash it now. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Sort the squares into three piles, red/blue/print, and

put a pile into a pillow case, tie it shut, and wash on the gentlest cycle your machine has and they should come out with a minimum of fraying and all you need to do is remove a few loose threads.

or

put a pile into a sealable plastic container with a tight fitting lid, add water and a couple drops of detergent, close lid and shake a minute or two, empty sudsy water and replace with clear water, close lid then shake again to rinse. Repeat rinse if you feel it is needed. Most fabrics won't fray at all with this method.

Dry them in a pillow case or just press them dry. Debra in VA See my quilts at