Friday, July 6, 2012

prewash??

Should I prewash my quilt fabric?  Absolutely!!  This is a half yard of quilt shop fabric I'll use for binding.  It is quality fabric...but quality fabric can (and will) still fade.  It might be excess dye...or maybe not.  In any case if I hadn't prewashed, the finished quilt would be tinted a lovely rose color.
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6 comments:

Ms. said...

Good tip, although rose might have been a nice accident. I have this problem with a black Indian shirt. It's a fine fabric, but I have to presoak and wash it separately every time. I've had it for so many years, washed it so many times, it's turning gray. I wonder if a soak in vinegar would help set it for good.

BJ said...

I rinsed the red fabric twice in hot water and it still ran. Then I soaked it in vinegar water for 30 minutes...and it still ran a little. Then I soaked it for almost 2 hours in vinegar water with about a tablespoon of salt. After I rinsed it another couple of times, it finally stopped fading. I hung it to dry and then dry ironed it when it was still damp. I hope that does the trick!

It seems that most wonderful Indian fabric runs most of the time. But I think that is part of it's charm (aside from the fact that it must be hand washed every time). It reminds me of when I was in high school and a "bleeding madras" blouse (from India) was the very latest style. Ah, but we do love our fabric, don't we????

Thanks for visiting my blog :o) I love to hear from other fabric/thread/fiber artists.

Anonymous said...

Use Shout Color Catcher sheets in the final wash. Those little sheets grab any stray dye in the water. There great! Saved my 25 year old mini quilt that I just finished hand quilting. I had forgot I had not prewashed the fabric and the dark reds started bleeding into the whites. I threw in about five color catchers and my quilt was saved.

BJ said...

I haven't tried the Shout Color Catchers...but they're now on my "to buy" list. Thanks for the tip :o) And thanks for visiting...I hope to hear from you again.

Lisa C in GA. said...

I never pre-wash, I just throw the color catchers in when I wash, and no bleeding at all. My quilt guild told me about them after a baby quilt bled and even after washing and drying it before I noticed the bleed, I rewashed with the color catchers and it all came out. I use 2 for baby, 3 for youth, 4 for lap or twin, 5 for full and so on...a whole box is only about $3-$4, and it's well worth the saved time ironing the fabric to me, lol

BJ said...

Thanks for the advice :o) I'm glad you stopped by.

I'll use the Color Catchers next time. I have a smallish lap quilt sewn from fat quarters that weren't prewashed ... so it will be good to experiment on. I like "quick and easy" and prewashing fabrics slows down the process.