I have a neighbor who recently completed a quilt she has been working on for 2 years. When she put it in the washing machine on delicate cycle she had some red bleeding. She has made many quilts over the years and never experienced this situation. Any ideas to get out the red bleeding?
Marti from Venice Florida
It sounds like she may have not pre-washed her fabrics before she began the quilt. Seems there may be some products on the market for that. I think I had read something about putting the article in a salt water solution to set the color. You might try doing a search online or find a quilt shop in your phone book and ask the experts. I'm sure too you will get more advice here at thriftyfun! Good luck to your neighbor. (09/05/2006)
Shout makes spot remover in a cloth form. What you do is throw it into the wash. Hopefully she didn't put it in the dryer the first time, as the spots may be set in if she did. I am also a quilt maker and this is what I use. (09/05/2006)
By Rose
Whenever washing a quilt for the first time, wash in cold water and add 1 cup of vinegar to the wash cycle. This will set the colors. I don't use fabric softener since some of them tend to stain. (09/06/2006)
By Anne Smith
Ever since "Color Catchers" came out I swear by them. Found in the laundry aisle. Worth the little extra $ to save lots of goodies, esp. when something slips into the wash you didn't know was there. I also use only cold water. (09/07/2006)
By aardvark
Woolite makes a product called Dye Magnet. It's disposable sheets that go in the washing machine which catch the dye. I hope your friend will be able to remove the bleeding color. What a shame.
(09/08/2006)
By Rosemary
I wasn't sure if salt or vinegar. Thanks for the info. (04/23/2008)
By hope
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I made a quilt from squares of blue flannel (with white dogs in the pattern) and white flannel. I washed it and dried it first. When I was done sewing it I washed it again and the blue ran in to the white squares. How can I get the white squares white again without changing the blue squares?
Brenda
Thank you so much for saving me today. I was soaking a stain on a quilt that my friend made me, and was shocked to see the blue squares bleeding all over the white ones. I rushed to the internet and found your advice for the Shout color catchers, then rushed to the store and back to the laundry room.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
I washed a beautiful handmade red and white quilt that my 91 year old mother made many years ago. The red bled into the white cotton.
