How many?
Convinced a navy batik would be the "ideal" background for Rainbow Radiance, I stopped at Twisted Sisters Quilt Shop in Maryville on my way to Pigeon Forge last week and found this:
I washed it once in the hotel laundry with two Color Catchers and they came out just about as blue as the fabric. So I decided to go with my original plan of a gray background.
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| Rainbow Radiance - Donna Lynn Thomas design |
Now home, I have washed it twice more, each time with two Color Catchers.
There's still blue coming out of the fabric. So here's my question: Would it be better to use more Color Catchers at one time? I've heard people say they use as many as 5 or 6. I don't understand the science of how they work at all. Or should I use another product?
I might be tempted to try Retayne on the fabric.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking that, but don't understand the science of that, either. Plus I confuse the purposes of Retayne and Synthropol ...
DeleteA friend of my dyes all of his own fabrics and here's the info he gave me: Synthropol is used when you are dying your own fabrics. Retayne is used on fabrics that have been commercially dyed that are bleeding (which is your situation). When I had red fabric that was bleeding on my holiday wreath quilt, I used Retayne on it. It definitely helped. If you decide to try it, just make sure that you have a washer that is a top loader that you can over-fill and you want to fill it with HOT water - as hot as your machine will allow. The hot water pulls out the excess color and the Retayne attaches itself to the color in the water and rinses away. I hope that makes sense.
Delete(That blue would have been amazing as a background!)
ReplyDeleteI've seen a great tutorial on using Dawn to rescue a quilt that has had a fabric bleed, but I don't know if it works as a preventative.
http://www.colorwaysbyvicki.com/save-my-bleeding-quilt.html
Good luck!
I've been told to use a lot of color catchers when I wash darker fabrics. Haven't tried it since my one and only problem with bleeding in a finished quilt.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea baout the blue - but that block!!! I love it!
ReplyDeleteYep, Retayne. You can remember because it helps retain the color! I hope you get it stabilized so you can use it because it is a pretty fabric. The block is great with the gray, though.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the colour catchers, though you see to have that covered in the comments here. I'm not surprised you went back to the grey though, it's such a pretty design it would be awful to see it ruined.
ReplyDelete