I was pretty discourage when I pulled the quilt out of the washing machine and came face to face with this blotch.
I panicked as I had already promised this quilt to someone. There is no way I am giving a quilt that looks like this. I mean, the quilt doesn't have to be perfect for me to give it to someone, but this was way below the acceptable mark. The color catcher had obviously did its job.
So I dried it a bit the dryer. Not a very good idea by the comment of some readers but I was afraid that leaving it wet would enable the bleeding to get further into the quilt. I had to stop it long enough to get some answers from my ever so resourceful readers. I snapped a few pictures, did a quick post and waited for some suggestions.
I was not disappointed. So many of you wrote back with suggestions or links or even to sympathize with my disheartenment. I so appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you. Some wrote to wash it again with some color catchers pinned to the quilt. Sounds like great advise so I gave it a try.
And tried again. And again. After the fourth wash with very little difference, I decided it was a waste of energy and saw that it was spreading further in the quilt, regardless of the color catcher pinned to it.
Some commentators linked Vicki Welsh to their comments. (If the name doesn't ring a bell to you, I'll just say that she is the Queen of hand dyed fabric.) She wrote a post that thoroughly explains the results of her experiments with plenty of pictures. Awesome reading! You can find the post here.
She declares Dawn Pure (yep, the blue dish soap) as the best detergent to wash a quilt after testing it against 3 other detergents including Synthrapol. Needless to say, this little girl jumped in her car to get some Dawn!
Vicki also says that color catcher aren't necessary ( WHHHAAAT??) but to let the quilt soak in hot water with a good measure of Dawn. Let it soak from 12 to 24 hours. Well, it doesn't cost much to try this one, right? So I did.
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| Pictured on the snow. It makes the quilt appear wavy. |
Goodbye Hidden Gems. I know you will hug the little one with all the love, comfort and warmth I have quilted into you. You will enjoy the squeals of joy, the laughter, the tears, the feverish forehead and the incessant babbling of pretend plays. You were loved and you will be loved even more.
Now, on to RSC2017, or are you fed up of this post? (Sorry.) Let's go through it quickly.
My purple January looks like this.
Joining Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Myra at Busy Hands Quilts
Angie at A Quilting Reader's Garden
Angela at So Scrappy on Saturday
Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun than Housework on Sunday
Until next time .... I'll be soaking some fabrics.
;^)
51 comments:
I'm so thrilled that Vicki's directions solved your bleeding problem. Hidden gems is such a beautiful quilt, it was so discouraging to see the bleed. What a wonderful save.
Pat
Wow I would have never believed it could come so clean. Beautiful quilt and I'm so glad it worked out for you.
Wow, something as simple as Dawn and hot water. The results are simply amazing.
Yeah!! I'm so happy for you. I'm going to have to try that on a few of my quilts.
That's wonderful that the bleeding came out! Thanks goodness for other bloggers!
Huzzah! It looks terrific!
Hooray for a happy ending!!!
I am so glad to hear about soaking in Dawn. I have a quilt that the red border bled so bad, it just makes me sick to look at the quilt. As soon as the temps moderate, I am so soaking that quilt in a tub with dawn. It can't make the quilt any worse than it is. villacrestfarm@gmail.com
Congratulations! This certainly is a happy ending!
Is Dawn Pure different than Dawn Ultra? So happy this worked for you and thanks for sharing. I am so glad I clicked on over to read this.
I am so happy for you. It looks like you never had a problem.
Oh and by the way, I am using the same pattern as my RSC for this year. I made my blocks 6 inches. So far I have 8 purple ones. I have always loved how the pattern looks and yours is amazing.
Congratulations.It`s a stunning ending!
I'm going to bookmark that post of Vickie's! So glad you got it cleared up. Beautiful quilt, Chantal.
you win the "cleanest quilt award!" It looks wonderful and I'm sure it will be loved! I will be keeping Vicki's directions handy, just in case!
I'm so so SO glad for a happy ending! And I'm making a note of Best Fix Ever, so I'll be prepared when it inevitably happens to me. Thanks for letting us know how it turned out!
Love your RSC blocks! I need to get back to work on mine...
Thank goodness the colour bleed came out. I know exactly how you were feeling because I had the same thing happen to me once before and it was very upsetting. Thank you for the link to Vicki's post....I will certainly be keeping that info handy!
I'm glad Vicki's method worked for you!
Well that is amazing! I am so pleased for you. I have looked up Dawn Pure and it comes up as a dishwashing liquid - is that right? I like your buckwheat block. xx
Super duper glad for you to be able to get the bleed out of that gorgeous quilt!
Wow, that is just incredible! I'm so happy that Vicki's treatment worked on your quilt. I will need to find some Dawn Pure to keep around for future disasters. Your quilt turned out beautifully--so glad there was a happy ending!
So happy that you were able to get all that red out. Good to know about the Dawn Pure. Vicki was so smart to do all that testing for us.
After all those spins through the wash, at least you know it's durable! It can take anything the little guy can dish out after all that!
I have lost count of how many quilters have used Vicki's "bleeding quilt" info to rescue their quilts. Every one of them has been elated. Hooray that you can join their ranks!
I am so excited for you that the bleeding came out!! I will be writing down that info, thanks for sharing too. You have helped spread the solution.
I am so impressed that the method worked even after it had been through the dryer. I'm so happy you saved one of my favorite quilts.
I'm so glad that it worked for you! Thank you for passing on the information.
That is just amazing. I use Dawn for dishes, and I've read here and there that it is the best for this and that, but I wasn't even aware that there was a detergent. Now it sounds like a miracle detergent. I am so glad this worked out for you. I caught myself literally holding my breath as I starting reading about it.
yea!
Hurrah!
Oh, hooray! That is wonderful, Chantal! I actually have a red and white quilt that did a little bleeding and I haven't done anything about it yet. Now I will go get some Dawn Blue, and read Vicki's post, too.
Thanks for passing that very useful tip along from Vicki.
The quilt you made for the little guy is beautiful and I know it will have a good life being dragged along by it's new owner!
You have some really neat purple blocks for this month!
Thrilled with the result for the quilt. I must remember the Blue Dawn and see if we have something like that here.... Well done for perservering and one happy little man to get that beautiful quilt..
Hugz
OH my goodness... who knew that Dawn was a miracle cure?!?!
Well, now we all do!
I would be so scared to soak in hot water!
Great news!
What a happy ending to that story. The quilt looks fantastic. I'll have to remember the Dawn trick. Fun and productive purple month.
YAY!!! You did it! Vicki Welsh is a font of knowledge (and she has great fabrics, too!) I'm so happy for you that it all came out - and it's a great lesson for all of us.
I'm putting Dawn on my shopping list!
I'm so happy your pretty quilt was saved. I'm sure it will be loved for years.
Color catcher don't work....who knew?
Red and purple fabrics scare me every time I wash them! This has happened to me and I'm sure countless others too! I'm so happy you were able to save this quilt and find just the right solution to remove the bleeding!! Your quilt is just gorgeous and if it were me...I would be so happy to have that one gifted and out of my sight after all the heartbreaking issues!!
BEAUTIFUL QUILT! I love how those bright colors pop from the white. Thanks for the Dawn soak tip. Not has an issue with a quilt yet but I'm sure it will happen. Had a problem when white socks and white men's briefs were washed with a new red sweatshirt. PINK! Ypes!
Hurray! Glad you were able to save that lovely quilt. Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!
Glad you tried Vicki's method and found it successful. I've used her method before too and I always use Dawn for hand washing dishes so always have it on hand. But I have to say most of the time ColorCatchers work for me.
Lots of nice purple blocks too!
What a wonderful ending to your horror story! I would have never thought that it would have come out after it had been in the dryer. Wow. I have a couple of garments that I would like to try that Dawn on before I toss them.
I like your blocks too.
Also, I always spend a little time in the bedroom at the top of the page when I visit your blog. It just looks so comfy!
What a beautiful quilt, I am so glad you can save it! I am off to the store for some Dawn soap to try to rescue a quilt of my own - thanks for the link!
WAIT! You got the bleeding out by soaking it for a long time in water and Dawn dish soap??? Seriously?? That's awesome info!! Looking gorgeous!!
Great ending to a scary story! Congratulations.
Yeah! A broken heart restored! A misbehaving quilt behaves! A baby boy get to cuddle with something warm, soft and filled with love! Win! Win!
It is a tiny bit more involved than that. Definitely read the link all the way through of the bleed ever happens to you. Missing part of a step could potentially have the bleed spread to previously unaffected areas. But it really is simple and amazingly effective. The hardest thing is simply the patience to wait the full time.
Je suis contente que tout se termine bien, c'était vraiment terrible un si beau quilt abimé. Par contre je n'aurais jamais osé laissé tremper un quilt plusieurs heures, on m'avait toujours dit que c'est ça qui faisait dégorger...
How many blocks were in your quilt and what is the finished size?
A late response, but I am so glad you got the red out of the quilt. I am sure it would be loved regardless, but I am sure it feels much better to give a superclean quilt instead of a bleeding one! I'm going to save the link, not that I want to ever need it.
Wow, that is incredible. When you say "a good amount of Dawn" how much do you mean? Not that I ever want to use that advice, though! The quilt is so pretty. I'm so glad it worked out.
I also had good luck with Dawn - only used it on an individual block but the same offending fabric is in an entire quilt. One of these days I will wash that entire quilt - not sure of the amount of Dawn to use but at least there is hope. /thanks for this good post - very glad for your successful technique.
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