WWQP Bulletin Board

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Follow-up

Forgot to mention in previous post that I put 2 color-catcher sheets in the bathtub with the quilt and of course they turned red, red, red! NancyH

posted by NancyH @ 11:18 AM  

9 Comments:

  • At November 10, 2009 at 7:16 PM , Blogger judy in ar said...

    Unfortunately, I think the color sheets released the color. If you had not used them, since you prewashed everything originally I think you would have been ok. But too late for that now.

    I would suggest a couple of things. Wash it in your machine using some biz and no detergent. Let it soak a while, then rinse twice.

    Or you could wash it in the machine (the machine keeps the water moving so it's less likely for loose dyes to resettle) and use the dye magnet stone or whatever it is--the solid item rather than the sheets. This thing draws excess dye to it.

    What NOT to do. Do not use the "color out" products that you might find like at Hancocks--the chain, not Paducah. This will remove the extra red. But it will also remove all other color from the quilt--like bleach. Don't ask me how I know this!!! Just don't make the same mistake.

    And here is something else that works better than you could imagine. After washing in any of the above mentioned ways, spread it out on your driveway in the sun. For some reason this gets rid of extra color. This even works with aged yellow/brown spots-splotches in very old vintage items. I swear by it.

    Good luck and I hope you will report back.
    judy in ar

     

  • At November 10, 2009 at 9:14 PM , Blogger Judy in Ohio said...

    I agree about never using the "Color Out" stuff on a quilt. Dreadful heartbreaking stuff to use on a multicolored quilt.

     

  • At November 10, 2009 at 11:26 PM , Blogger NancyH said...

    Thank you to both Judys...I would never have guessed about the dye sheets - here I thought I was doing a good thing. I did dry it in the sun, actually thinking that it might help, and who knows, maybe it would have been worse had I not. I will try your suggestions, Judy in Ark. - and definitely will report back! Thanks so much!!! NancyH

     

  • At November 11, 2009 at 2:45 AM , Blogger Laura in IA said...

    My thought is to keep the water moving with the quilt in the washer then dry it fully in the dryer before the color can migrate. Harriett Hargrave recommends the regular ivory dish detergent with no additions as the mildest soap for quilts. I sympathize and have also had such migrations after prewashing. It seemed to me the still damp areas were where the bleeding occurred. I am aware that I did not prewash until the water ran clear though. Just more input for you to ponder, nothing guaranteed.

     

  • At November 12, 2009 at 10:40 AM , Blogger Linda, the Serial Quilter from Oxford, Ohio said...

    I think that the color catchers did not cause the color problem. Sometimes the color is released because a different temperature water was used when washing the quilt than when the original cloth was washed prior to making into a quilt. Sometimes it just happens. Now, if the quilt and color catchers weren't removed as soon as the washer stopped, there could have been some dye transfer then.

     

  • At November 13, 2009 at 8:40 PM , Blogger Jill from Portland said...

    Are these color catcher sheets different than the old dye magnets?
    I think I was told they don't make the dye magnets anymore?
    Also someone told me the dye magnets are nothing but 100% cotton terry that is similar to PFD, meaning no
    additives to the fabric. Does anyone know if this is true?
    I hope something works for you Nancy!
    I have a beautiful pomegranate applique quilt that I had hand quilted & has not been washed because I didn't want it to be washed as a top since that can be a disaster too. I am wondering if there is something I could for lack of a better word "paint" on the red before washing the whole quilt, something that might set the dye? Any thoughts? Jill

     

  • At November 14, 2009 at 12:51 AM , Blogger judy in ar said...

    Jill, the way to set color is to put the quilt in cold water with either salt or vinegar. I think that then you should be able to wash it normally.
    The dye magnets I'm thinking of were an object, not a piece of fabric. And the color out that you shouldn't use are a powder that you dissolve in the water before adding the quilt/fabric.
    judy in ar

     

  • At November 14, 2009 at 2:18 PM , Blogger Jane in NC said...

    When I prewash I always use Synthropol, a dye fixative detergent used by hand dyers, along with a color catcher sheet. With the last quilt I made which had red sashing I enclosed a box of color catcher sheets in the package with laundering instructions (gentle cycle, warm water, medium heat in dryer etc). The Synthropol prewash is to be done in HOT water. This is all according to Ricky Tims' directions. I believe the color catcher sheets absorb the dye that washes out of the fabric. If they drew the dye out they would fade the colors in the fabric. Perhaps it is wise, especially with red, to prewash twice and then do the dye test by putting a swatch in a small dish with hot water to see if any dye leaches out.

    My DM taught me the vinegar/salt technique but the Synthropol and color catcher together do a much better job in my experience.

    Jane

     

  • At November 19, 2009 at 11:30 PM , Blogger NancyH said...

    Very interesting discussions! I found it very curious that the red dye did not leach onto the muslin backing, only onto the creamy background in the floral fabric I used for the stars. I still haven't re-washed - I plan to use the Biz method suggested by Judy in AR first. House is in total disarray getting ready for new carpet right now. Thank you thank you thank you for all your help - and I hope this helped others too.

     

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