hippychiquita Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 hello all, I am new to this forum and joined to get some advice what I should do. I recently received a beautiful quilt for graduation and the quilter recommended I wash it in cold water to remove all the loose stitch ends on the back side. I washed in cold water with a pH balanced liquid detergent and when I pulled it out, the quilting thread had bled all through my white fabric. I bundled the quilt up so it remains damp. I called the quilter and she said she had never had that happen in 10 years of work and recommended I try Retayne. Can anyone else second this recommendation? Should I do something else? I do have pics I can post if needed. It is very obvious that the bleeding comes from the quilting thread and not from any fabric. Thank you for your help Kara kjohnson@coa.edu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingupastorm Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 I would take the quilters advice and try the Retayne ASAP!!! It is a dye catcher and is recomended here over and over for bleeding fabrics. Hopefully you can get the color out. There might be some other replies here as well. I do have to say that the longer it remains in the fabrics the more it will set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Retayne is a product we use to "Fix" dyes in commercially purchased solid or over dyed cotton fabrics, to prevent color bleeding during washing. The threads may not have been washed enough when they were made and are creating this problem as well....I\'ve had some reds, greens, blues, and purples really bleed bad, but it has been years since that last happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnHenry Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 I am an amateur here and don\'t know specifically about longarm quilting thread, but I don\'t see a lot of help forthcoming from people with more experience than I, so here goes. This is what I did when my nephew washed his quilt in Woolite and several fabrics "faded" onto the lighter colors. I had specifically told him not to (Woolite contains bleach - how else can it get things white in cold water?) but he listened to his mother instead of to the quiltmaker. I made an incredibly weak bleach solution and dipped a portion of the quilt into it, gradually making the bleach solution stronger (a drop at a time) until I got results. This being a new "stain" and being the most fragile colorwise will come out before the stronger colors will. Then re-wash the whole quilt to get the bleach out. I wonder why you did not name the brand of the detergent you used and of the thread. Is that not allowed to be printed here? It seems like "protecting" a bad product not to name it. Is this fading a common occurrence with quality LA threads ? ? Or perhaps the quilter used "bargain" thread to save money? I\'d like more details . . . I use only Shaklee Basic H and Basic L for ALL my laundry and for ALL my quilts, and have never had ANY problem. No, I do not sell Shaklee! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doodlebug Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 i had a customer bring me an antique applique quilt someone had given her. it was one of those old kit tops. needless to say, alot of the deep dark colors had "bleed" on to the white background and i offered (with her permission0 to wash the quilt when it was finished. i used 4 tablesppons of sythapol and 1/2 cup vingear, 1/4 cup tide. and WHA_LA. all the excess dye came out of the background. i use this "recipe" when washing all quilts and have never! had a problem. do let the washer fill all the way up and swish before adding quilts. as to the thread bleeding, i use polyester thread, and have never really heard about a thread bleeding..... good luck. i\'m sure you\'ll make your quilt "right" again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnHenry Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 If Retayne / synthapol is as wonderful as it sounds (above) I surely spent hours and hours of unnecessary work doing it my way - although this was several years ago, and I\'m not sure if Retayne was around then. It was my very limited understanding / assumption that Retayne had to be used the very first time a fabric was washed, so that therefore it would not work for hippychiquita\'s current problem. I may be wrong (again!) We will all eagerly await hearing the results of her efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doodlebug Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 i personally don\'t like retayne. the ratio of it to fabric is too complicated and it takes ALOT! to do it\'s job. synthapol is like a tablespoon per like small load, 2 for a medium load, 3 for a large load, etc. also, synthapol neutralizes the chemical bond the dye partical has, so it can\'t rest somewhere its not and cause a stain. also synthapol can use warm water. retayne takes hot water the first wash and cold water there after(i don\'t like washing a quilt in hot water). i\'m not a salesman, but i do dye my own fabrics, and this is my opinion based soley on my expirences. i personally wash all my personal quilts (i like the way they "soften" up) and this (and above) hasn\'t dissappointed me yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 These two products have a different function. Sythrapol removes excess dye while retayne sets the dye. I always wash hand dyed fabric in sythrapol and then set with retayne. All of my fabric gets set with retayne. The way I see it is if it takes a small bottle for me to wash my yardage for a quilt it is money well spent. It isn\'t that expensive, only about $3 or $4 for a small bottle and with the cost of fabric at $8 - $12 a yard it is a good investment. As for fixing the problem at hand. I have two different things I would try. First try soaking in clorax safe for color fabric booster. I have had friends who have used this on their quilts with bleeding and they managed to get all of the bleeding out. The other thing you can try is soaking it in Biz. Martha Pullen uses this on heirloom clothes that are very old and delicate and it works safely. Heidi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeri Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 What brand of thread did she use? This question is so we are aware and be very careful if we use it. Thanks jeri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted October 23, 2007 Report Share Posted October 23, 2007 Synthrapol removes excess dye. Retayne sets the dye. Color Catchers are sheets that go in the washer and attract any dye that transfers to the water. Biz is also a great product but I don\'t believe it affects the dye--it is very gentle with no phosphates or bleaching agents and is great for regular washing. I had good luck removing dye transfer caused by a hand-appliqued red-on-white album top that had been folded and stored in a plastic bag. The red that transfered to the white came out in one treatment with Synthrapol. Good luck and let us know what works for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerriVB Posted October 23, 2007 Report Share Posted October 23, 2007 When I give a gift quilt that hasn\'t been washed--I always include one or two ColorCatchers made by Shout--they work excellent!! I prewashed some maroon and white fabrics together and my white stayed white and the color catchers were maroon--catching all the excess dye from it. I also have used them when a quilt I washed---before knowing about them--had a red fabric that turned my white pink--use some OxyClean and about 4-5 catchers and just keep washing the quilt and I got it quite clean. Hope that helps!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted October 23, 2007 Report Share Posted October 23, 2007 I was so blessed to get a stack of original 1930-1940\'s feed sack Sunbonnet sue blocks.. I washed them in luke warm water.. and some of the fabrics bled onto the very stiff feedsack fabric used as background fabric. I about cried, made a zip trip to the local quilt shop. She had me get a bottle of "Quilt Soap" By Quilters Rule Int\'l In a half a tub of an ex large capacity washer I only dip one finger into the soap and wet it with the soap up to the hand, and rinse it into the washer.. it took every bit of the bleeding on the background out, and looking beautiful. I also have and on very rare occasion, use Retayne, due to the cost and formula. Now any time I think there might be a threat of bleeding, or if I\'m thowing a medium colored bathtowel set into a dark load, etc.. I always throw in dye catcher sheets and they pick up a lot of stray color, too. RitaRose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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