Some fabrics should just never go out in the shops. Some years ago I bought a lovely pink fabric only to find out that the color was running. I ended up tossing it away. It was before I had ever heard of Synthrapol and that sort of things. Life is too short to struggle with those things.

Piece the background from your stash or buy a new piece.

I agree... toss that fabric in the rubbish and get/make a new backing!!

That said, If you want to try one more thing, it is this: Soak the fabric in RETAYNE and hot water. It may still bleed but hopefully the Retayne will set what's left in it. The rinse should be COOL water. And all subsequent washings should be with cool water only, if you use the fabric.

One more thought on the Synthrapol: My bottle says to rinse in warm water and subsequent washings if you use the fabric, should not be in hot, only warm or cool. Could it be that the subsequent hot water is causing excess bleeding by washing the chemical out? Just a theory, I have no idea if this is how it works.

Oh, sister ! Send that fabric down the road ! Piece that back out of your stash if you have no big yardage !
End the fight !

I am glad I don't pay Rosemary's water bill, not to mention utilities for heating the water. Is there any color left in that fabric? Lois

Rosemary--get some different fabric!

GOOD GRIEF! :shock: I think I would have given up long ago and gone shopping for new fabric!!

I am using a couple of metres of red salt dye style fabric for part of my hst backing. Decided to play it safe and prewash it to remove loose dye.

My question is 'What is the maximum number of times anyone has washed a length of cloth?' I am getting really, really,(really,really,really) bored washing this length. So far

1x hot wash in machine with synthrapol
5x soak in synthrapol & boiling water (4 left overnight) machine rinse & spin between each soak
1 x 95degrees C machine wash with synthrapol.
1x soak in boiling water & salt - fairly short about 4 hours
1x 60 degrees C machine wash with synthrapol (currently going on )

To test I am taking the fabric, placing it in a bowl with a piece of colour catcher & pouring boiling water over them, prodding them about a bit, then leaving for about 1/2 - 1 hour, if it is stained it goes back in the soak/machine & synthrapol.

It has taken me a week to get this far, and if it carries on much longer a) I might lose the will to live and b) I won't get my quilt finished for the deadline.

Yes you can do it. I put my very big king-sized quilt into the washing machine ( a regular size automatic) and then into the tumble dryer (it's a large American style dryer) and it came out perfectly. The quilt is all appliqued pieces on a plain calico background with a deep cranberry red very wide border. The batting is 100% cotton and I did very little quilting on it but it still came out perfect.

quote="Reetzbobeetz"]Rosemary, if it was me I would do it after quilting. If you do it at this stage maybe you will get lots of tangled threads on the back seams which will take ages to snip before quilting (ask me how I know this ).[/quote]

the tangle of threads is one of the reasons I was considering doing it in the bath - far less agitation to create the tangling.
However if I were to wash it now I would also lose the advantage of the heavily starched borders, which are helping to keep it 'under control'. I just hope my machine is up to washing a full bed sized quilt, I cannot remember if I have put blankets through this machine or not

Rosemary, if it was me I would do it after quilting. If you do it at this stage maybe you will get lots of tangled threads on the back seams which will take ages to snip before quilting (ask me how I know this ). I used synthrapol on my pineapple quilt after it was finished and bound and it worked really well. I threw in a couple of colour catchers as well just in case. Make sure you check with Dharma Trading for the amount of synthrapol to use in an automatic machine - I can't remember the exact amount but it is less than you would use in an American machine.

I will be getting my final borders onto my HST quilt today, and I am wondering would it be sensible to wash it in synthrapol first (before quilting). Either in the bath tub (for less creasing) or in the machine (for more thorough agitation)?

I also have some 'Dr Magic Snatch-a-dye' sheets that work the same way as colour catchers, should I toss a couple of those into the water as well? (Laundry is so not my thing!)

Try wetting a color catcher and laying it on the offending spot. . .let it dry. . .repeat the process. . .see if that works for you. It worked for me on my HST quilt from the Batiks-R-Us exchange. I'm about to do this to a quilt that has some bleeding. . .I'll let you know if it works.

Here's my update: The Carbona color remover looked like it was removing the blue color from the yellow-orange area where it wasn't wanted. However as soon as I rinsed it out the blue color came back. I tried putting a swatch of the turquoise in the solution to see what would happen and it really dulled and darkened the color. Then I found some fabric paints, mixed up a color that looked like the original and thinned it a little. When I painted it onto my swatch it just accentuated the blue stain! My little swatch looked like a packet of mustard with some mold in it. So, I'm declaring this quilt finished, it is what it is, as they say! Lesson learned: test my fabrics especially hand dyes before using them.
Kathy

PosyP wrote:
Rosemary, they already whispered in my ear "fabric paint!" :shock:

You might not know that I'm a pharmacist in my work life, maybe I should try to get some of those dried frog pills. I wonder what they are called? Amphibione? Ripit-ene?

At this point if the Carbona color remover doesn't work who knows what I will do? Silly suggestions will be enertained!
Kathy