Sunday, March 31, 2019

Disaster Averted


One of the guilds I belong to was collecting 12" blocks to put together a quilt for one of our members who is having some health challenges.  I used the tutorial from Bonjour Quilt for this "Adori Block".  I was really happy with the end product and decided to give it one last press with some of my favorite Best Press before calling it a day.


OH NO!!!! The center turquoise fabric bled on to the white, and look what it left on my pressing board!!!!


I could have just chucked it and started over, but I decided to try and save it. I stay stitched 1/8" all around the block before I did anything else.  
I have followed Vicki Welsh over at www.colorwaysbyvickiwelsh.com  for years.  She is a master fabric dyer and has done many experiments regarding setting and removing stray dyes.  She has a fantastic article called "Save My Bleeding Quilt", which is the info I used to work on the block.

I soaked my block overnight in HOT water and a generous amount of blue Dawn dish soap.  This was the color of the water in the morning.  Amazing when you think of how little of that fabric is actually in the block.



 I am happy to report that all of the bleed on the white fabric came out, and all of the excess blue dye stayed in the water.  I soaked it a second time just to be sure and the water stayed clear!


I hung my block to dry, pressed it flat and was pleasantly surprised that the shrinkage was minimal.


This picture shows the original offending fabric placed on top of my rescued block.  Definitely lost the dark element.  


Even though I had a near disaster, this is not going to change my mind about prewashing fabrics.  I don't think a quick trip in a small amount of water in a washing machine is enough to ensure that ALL dye is removed from a fabric. Most commercial fabrics are great, but every once in a while you get a problematic one.  I have heard many stories of quilts not running until the 3rd or 4th wash.  If you haven't already do take the time to read Vicki's article.  It has saved everything from a single lowly block to a show quilt.


1 comment:

  1. Yes...thank goodness for Vicki's details on dealing with bleeding dyes.

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