Colorways By Vicki Welsh
  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Galleries
    • Quilt Gallery >
      • 2025 >
        • Hanover Country Life Quilt
        • Oak Moth Quilt
      • 2024 >
        • Red SunsetQuilt
        • Big Blue Quilt
      • 2023 >
        • Heirloom Bear
        • Firefighter Quilt
        • The Goldfinch
      • 2022 >
        • Summer Sunset Quilt
        • Soundwave Quilt
      • 2021 >
        • A Big Green Quilt
        • Finally! Quilt
      • 2020 >
        • Jackies Choice Quilt
        • Penguins on Ice Quilt
        • Corona Cats Quilt
        • Kim's Garden
      • 2019 >
        • Indonesian Batik Quilt
        • Lost My Marbles
        • Remaking Flora's quilt
        • I'm Not a Snowflake Quilt
        • Where In The World Is My Cat Quilt
        • Fireworks
        • The Groovy Quilts
        • The Puppy Quilt
      • 2018 >
        • The Maine Quilt
        • Stars At Sea
        • Antelope Canyon Quilt
      • 2017 >
        • The Wedding Quilt Quilt
        • Rainbow's End Quilt
      • 2016 >
        • CSQ Challenge Quilt
        • Wholecloth Quilt of Valor
        • Luras Choice Quilt
        • Black Swan Quilt
        • 2016 Quilt of Valor Quilt
        • Non Unus Pluma Quilt
      • 2015 >
        • Snaps Quilt
        • Batik Crossroads Quilt
        • Wild Goose Chase Quilt
        • Fractured Fragments Quilt
        • Tell It To the Stars Quilt
        • Cathedral Window Quilt
        • Time In Place Quilt
        • Shaken Not Stirred Quilt
        • Pleiades Quilt
      • 2014 >
        • Spinning Stars Quilt
        • Fractured Spiral Quilt
        • Autumn Leaves Quilt
        • Sea Dreams Quilt
        • Woodland Star Quilt
        • Zombie Ball Quilt
        • Innova Angles Quilt
      • 2013 >
        • Murder For a Jar of Red Rum Quilt
        • Patroitic Quilts
        • Red Sunset Bedding Quilt
        • The Infamous Fish Quilt
        • Gratitudes Quilt
      • 2012 >
        • Illuminated Blocks Quilt
        • Kims Wedding Quilt
        • Crossing The South Anna Quilt
        • Coming Home Quilt
        • See Reverse Quilt
        • Overboard Quilt
        • Floras Fans and Modern Crumbs Quilt
        • The Patriot Quilt
        • On Point Quilt
        • Grinch Quilts
      • 2011 >
        • Star Struck Quilt
        • On A Whim Quilt
        • Catena Quilt
        • Zig Zag Scraps Quilt
        • Purple Keepsakes Quilt
        • Fiberactions Challenge Quilts
        • Journal Quilts 2011
      • 2010 >
        • Maggie the Messmaker Cross Stitch
        • Fiberactions Challenge Quilts
        • Wootten Memory Quilts
        • Teal Tomorrow Quilt
      • 2009 >
        • Shereen's Peaceful Garden
        • TShirt Quilt Commission
        • Three Generation Quilt
      • 2008 >
        • Flora's Quilts
        • Monkey Baby Quilts
        • Citrus Quilt
      • 2007 >
        • Snails Trail Quilts
        • Quilts of Valor
        • Other Quilts
      • 2006 and older >
        • Scrap Bin Quilt
        • Flora's Dutchman's Breeches
        • The Gift Quilts
        • Reversible Quilts
        • Spectacular Scraps Quilts
        • Foundation Pieced Quilts
        • Art Quilts
        • Kathy's Memorial Quilt
    • Symmetry Quilt Gallery
    • Dyeing Gallery >
      • Tie Dye Gallery
      • Shibori Gallery
    • Postcard Gallery
    • Fused Glass Gallery
    • Mosaic Gallery
    • Zentangle and Spirograph
  • Tutorials
    • Save My Bleeding Quilt
    • Quilting Tutorials >
      • The Gift Quilt Pattern
      • Keepsakes Quilt Pattern
      • Blocking a Quilt
      • Facing A Quilt Tutorial
      • Veterans Quilt Tutorials >
        • Allegiance Quilt Pattern
        • Gratitudes Quilt Pattern
        • Strength Quilt Pattern
        • Blockade Quilt Pattern
        • Redoubt Quilt Pattern
        • Regiment Quilt Pattern
        • Bars and Stripes Quilt Pattern
      • Rainbow Quilt Free Pattern
      • Binding a Quilt
    • Surface Design Tutorials >
      • Ice Dyeing tutorial
      • Snow Dyeing basics tutorial
      • Snow Dyeing Mandala
      • Sun Printing Tutorial
      • Lamp Printing Tutorial
      • Dyeing extra large fabrics
      • Hold the Retayne
      • Painted Shower Curtain Tutorial
      • Metallic Paint Effects on Fabric
      • Curing Metallic Fabric Paints
      • Zentange Pens
      • Leaf Printing Tutorial
      • Printing On Fabric
      • Life of MX Dye Concentrates
      • Testing Soda Ash in fabric dyeing
    • Placemat Tutorials >
      • Fat Quarter Placemat Tutorial
    • Basic Tutorials >
      • Custom Sewing Table
      • Liquid Spray Starch Recipe
    • Crafts and Small Projects >
      • Surgery Drain Bag Tutorial
      • Drawstring Bag Sewing Tutorial
      • Large Tote Tutorial
      • Big Fabric Flower Tutorial
      • The best potholders pattern
      • Notebook Cover Tutorial
      • Pillowcase tutorial
      • Wide Brim Sun Visor
      • Trash To Treasure Holiday Ornaments
      • Pet Bed From Scraps Tutorial
      • Framed Metal Quilt
      • Shooting Shirt Tutorial
      • Making Paper
      • Making Soap
      • Favorite Soap Reicpes
      • Bowl hot pad pattern
    • Longarm Quilting Tutorials >
      • The longarm machine does matter
      • Double Wavy Crosshatch
      • Wavy Crosshatch Longarm
      • Centering a Quilt back on a longarm
      • Quilting Snowball Blocks
      • Using Channel Locks
      • Adding backing on the longarm
    • Crochet and Other Tutorials >
      • Crochet Wheelchair Shawl
  • Contact

Bleeding Quilt.....Saved!

11/18/2016

 
Picture
A couple of years ago I wrote my tutorial for dealing with bleeding fabrics....and quilts. It's the most read and linked page on the whole web site. It's also the subject of over half of the communications that I get through the website. It's the reason that this button is front and center on my home page.

People email me with questions and they email me with their gratitude. What they don't know is how grateful I am to hear about and see their saved quilts. Yesterday I heard from Teri Routledge from Logan, Utah. She was kind enough to send me lots of photos and the story behind her quilt so I could share it with you today.

teri routledge bleeding quilt
It all started with this beautiful quilt. I'll let Teri tell the story from here and you can see all of the photos in a gallery at the end.

This quilt was made for my son and daughter-in-law for a Christmas present. I pieced and machine quilted it with all my love.  I have been quilting for almost 20 years and use only quality fabrics and thread from our local quilt shop. I was so proud of this quilt and even made a special label for it. But when I put it in water to block it, it bled terribly. I have never had this happen before and I panicked! First I took it to two different laundry/dry cleaners to see if they could fix it. Both told me they couldn’t do a thing after a few test attempts. Next week is Thanksgiving and I am leaving in two days to drive 1200 miles to see them and wanted to deliver the quilt in person. I am almost out of time, the dry cleaners had it for several weeks. I scoured the internet looking for a solution. There had to be someone, somewhere, who has experienced this. I came across this website that gave excellent instructions using very hot water and Dawn dish soap. I thought – what do I have to lose? I have spent several hundreds of dollars already and so much time. First I cranked the hot water heater to full blast. I filled our jetted tub half way with ½ cup of Dawn Platinum soap and placed the quilt in the water, gently agitating with a long wooden spoon (the water was hot!). I continued to put more hot water in every 20-30 minutes (when the hot water heater would recover). After about 75 minutes the water was so dark and purple that I decided to drain and start over. I agitated throughout the day but my quilt soaked for 7 hours total. I was leaving in 36 hours, I had to see the results. I drained the very dark purple water yet again and gently squeezed it enough to get it to the washing machine. It looked promising. I have one of those low energy, low water washing machines and I was skeptical that it wouldn’t be able to rinse it enough with all the soap already in it. I put it on the bulky, hot water cycle with a double rinse. The results were AMAZING. It was restored. I have it hanging over a folding wooden clothes dryer to dry overnight and the next day. I will pack it right before I leave and cannot wait to deliver it. Now, what to tell my kids…
It was a quilt like this that started me on the path to find a way to fix bleeding quilts and to prevent it from happening in the first place. In that first quilt a customer had blended my hand dyed fabric with commercial fabric. When she washed it the first time it bled like crazy. After a lot of testing of my fabric and others in the quilt I think we eventually figured out that it was the backing fabric that bled and backstained on her quilt. But my hand dyed fabric did still bleed some and I knew I had to fix that. 

With as much as Teri's quilt bled it had to be the backing fabric. She bought all high quality fabric but even those bleed from time to time. The only way to prevent this from happening is to PRESOAK, not pre-wash, your fabric. Any commercial fabric that I buy spends the night in a washer full of hot water ad Dawn. If they bleed the water is drained and they get to spend another 8 - 12 hours soaking to get all of the excess dye out of them. Doing that with fabric is a lot easier than dealing with the quilt later. I hope you will consider pre-soaking your fabrics to make sure they are absolutely colorfast. I pre-soak all of my hand dyed fabrics so that you can use them right away in any project that you want!

Thank you Teri for sharing your quilt with us!
Karen Goad link
11/18/2016 12:17:40 pm

so great that the bleed came out for her. I have used your method too and it works - sometimes you have to soak more than other times but it is worth it. I hate the new water saver washing machines, even on bulky load you do not always get enough water in the machine and it won't always let you add water.

Vicki link
11/18/2016 12:36:27 pm

I agree. I can't imagine every buying one.

Tina in NJ
11/18/2016 12:55:20 pm

I've already told Vicki this, but a member of my guild used this method to whiten her new granddaughter's christening gown. It worked beautifully!

elle
11/18/2016 02:48:44 pm

Great! It is a lovely quilt!

Kristin F
11/18/2016 05:55:34 pm

Glad your method worked for the customer. It is a nice quilt. I always prewash my fabrics. but somehow I did not pick up that you were recommending presoaking! I'll have to remember to do that from now on. Thank you for clarifying. You are so helpful!!

Gene Black link
11/18/2016 09:07:58 pm

I have the version of Dawn you mentioned in the original post exclusively for anything that wants to bleed.
I think the method is genius, and you are an angel for sharing it.
That is one reason when I buy hand dyed fabrics - YOU are my vendor. I can trust the fabric not to bleed.

linda allen
11/19/2016 05:56:42 pm

Dawn Platinum is getting very difficult to fine (it's the preferred soap for bubble solution). I'm wondering if you have found a substitute? I was totally distressed when a baby quilt I made bled Ended up using Retayne which stopped the bleeding and Synthrapol which took out the bleeding but now it needs to be washed in cold water; not ideal for a baby quilt! As long as the Dawn Platinum is available, much easier and cheaper solution.

Vicki link
11/19/2016 06:19:09 pm

Linda,
Any Dawn will work. I use Pure Essentials but you can use the blue Dawn or any other that you prefer. Please be very careful using Retayne. You can read all about the things that you need to consider before using it here:
http://www.colorwaysbyvicki.com/hold-the-retayne.html

Judy McCarthy link
11/22/2016 12:17:20 am

i can only imagine what it must feel like to have this happen after all the work that has gone into a quilt.I will remember this next time I make a quilt.

Liz Arbaugh
12/7/2016 11:53:43 am

I am also one of those people that the info from your website has saved. I have passed your info on to countless others and they have all been as pleased with their outcomes as I have. Your save prompted me to pull all my red fabrics from my shelves and give them the Dawn soak. I've since moved on to all my batiks and other dark fabrics.

I can't begin to thank you enough for sharing this valuable information with the quilting world. Just before our guild show this past summer a member showed a purple quilt she had hoped to enter but it had bled when she washed it. I gave her your information and a few days later she emailed me to say that it worked. The quilt was restored and would be seen at the show.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I will continue to share this valuable information with others.

Vicki link
12/7/2016 12:42:56 pm

Thank you so much Liz! You made my day!

Fran in MIssissippi
12/8/2016 08:27:09 am

I have been using this technique since first reading your essay. With trepidation I followed your instructions to soak a just-finished quilt. The quilt had lots of color-saturated fabrics, but I haad to wash before a quilt show because I had used glue basting on the binding. After a couple water changes and a 16-hr soak, it was rinsed, then washing machine rinsed, then blocked on the floor to dry. The result was perfect--no bleeding, and pristine. I can't thank you enough for your generousity in sharing the knowledge you gained through many hours of experimentation. I reference your blog and your article whenever I am asked about washing fabrics.


Comments are closed.

    Feeds

    RSS Feed

    To subscribe click the RSS Feed button and copy the URL of that page into your blog reader.

    ​In Bloglovin you need to search "Colorways By Vicki Welsh" to find the blog.
    Get new posts by email:
    Powered by follow.it

    About Vicki

    I'm Vicki Welsh and I've been making things as long as I can remember. I used to be a garment maker but transitioned to quilts about 20 years ago. Currently I'm into fabric dyeing, quilting, Zentangle, fabric postcards, fused glass and mosaic. I document my adventures here.

    Privacy Policy

    Categories

    All
    4th Of July Quilt
    Applique
    Art
    Audiobooks
    Bird Watching
    Classes
    Community Service
    Contests
    Crafts
    Cricut
    Crochet
    Customer Gallery
    Electric-quilt
    Fab Farm Quilt
    Fabric Dyeing
    Fabric Painting
    Fabric Postcards
    Family
    Floras-quilt
    Floras-star-quilts
    Garment-sewing
    Gifted-quilts
    Glass
    Goldfinch-quilt
    Heirloom-bear
    Kaleidoscope-quilts
    Lap-quilt-project
    Longarm Quilting
    Longarm Quilting Easy
    Loom-knitting
    Loony-moony
    Lost-my-marbles
    Mosaic
    Nature
    Oak Moth Quilt
    Organizingdestashing
    Other-peoples-quilts
    Other Sewing
    Placemats
    Pleiades-ii
    Projects-finished-2016
    Projects-finished-2017
    Projects-finished-2018
    Projects-finished-2019
    Projects-finished-2020
    Projects-finished-2021
    Projects-finished-2022
    Projects Finished 2023
    Projects Finished 2024
    Projects Finished 2025
    Quilting
    Quilt Labels
    Quilt-patterns
    Rainbow Scrap Challenge
    Randomness
    Red Sunset Quilt
    Shibori
    Shop News
    Spirograph Quilting
    Studio
    Summer Sunset Quilt
    Sun Printing
    Tie Dyeing
    Travel
    Tutorials
    UFO Busting
    Using Scraps
    Wild Gears
    Zentangle

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

Contact
Thank you for visiting Colorways by Vicki Welsh.
Copyright © 2024 by Vicki Welsh. All rights reserved. Content from this site may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of Vicki Welsh. You are welcome to link and share links to any page on the site.
  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Galleries
    • Quilt Gallery >
      • 2025 >
        • Hanover Country Life Quilt
        • Oak Moth Quilt
      • 2024 >
        • Red SunsetQuilt
        • Big Blue Quilt
      • 2023 >
        • Heirloom Bear
        • Firefighter Quilt
        • The Goldfinch
      • 2022 >
        • Summer Sunset Quilt
        • Soundwave Quilt
      • 2021 >
        • A Big Green Quilt
        • Finally! Quilt
      • 2020 >
        • Jackies Choice Quilt
        • Penguins on Ice Quilt
        • Corona Cats Quilt
        • Kim's Garden
      • 2019 >
        • Indonesian Batik Quilt
        • Lost My Marbles
        • Remaking Flora's quilt
        • I'm Not a Snowflake Quilt
        • Where In The World Is My Cat Quilt
        • Fireworks
        • The Groovy Quilts
        • The Puppy Quilt
      • 2018 >
        • The Maine Quilt
        • Stars At Sea
        • Antelope Canyon Quilt
      • 2017 >
        • The Wedding Quilt Quilt
        • Rainbow's End Quilt
      • 2016 >
        • CSQ Challenge Quilt
        • Wholecloth Quilt of Valor
        • Luras Choice Quilt
        • Black Swan Quilt
        • 2016 Quilt of Valor Quilt
        • Non Unus Pluma Quilt
      • 2015 >
        • Snaps Quilt
        • Batik Crossroads Quilt
        • Wild Goose Chase Quilt
        • Fractured Fragments Quilt
        • Tell It To the Stars Quilt
        • Cathedral Window Quilt
        • Time In Place Quilt
        • Shaken Not Stirred Quilt
        • Pleiades Quilt
      • 2014 >
        • Spinning Stars Quilt
        • Fractured Spiral Quilt
        • Autumn Leaves Quilt
        • Sea Dreams Quilt
        • Woodland Star Quilt
        • Zombie Ball Quilt
        • Innova Angles Quilt
      • 2013 >
        • Murder For a Jar of Red Rum Quilt
        • Patroitic Quilts
        • Red Sunset Bedding Quilt
        • The Infamous Fish Quilt
        • Gratitudes Quilt
      • 2012 >
        • Illuminated Blocks Quilt
        • Kims Wedding Quilt
        • Crossing The South Anna Quilt
        • Coming Home Quilt
        • See Reverse Quilt
        • Overboard Quilt
        • Floras Fans and Modern Crumbs Quilt
        • The Patriot Quilt
        • On Point Quilt
        • Grinch Quilts
      • 2011 >
        • Star Struck Quilt
        • On A Whim Quilt
        • Catena Quilt
        • Zig Zag Scraps Quilt
        • Purple Keepsakes Quilt
        • Fiberactions Challenge Quilts
        • Journal Quilts 2011
      • 2010 >
        • Maggie the Messmaker Cross Stitch
        • Fiberactions Challenge Quilts
        • Wootten Memory Quilts
        • Teal Tomorrow Quilt
      • 2009 >
        • Shereen's Peaceful Garden
        • TShirt Quilt Commission
        • Three Generation Quilt
      • 2008 >
        • Flora's Quilts
        • Monkey Baby Quilts
        • Citrus Quilt
      • 2007 >
        • Snails Trail Quilts
        • Quilts of Valor
        • Other Quilts
      • 2006 and older >
        • Scrap Bin Quilt
        • Flora's Dutchman's Breeches
        • The Gift Quilts
        • Reversible Quilts
        • Spectacular Scraps Quilts
        • Foundation Pieced Quilts
        • Art Quilts
        • Kathy's Memorial Quilt
    • Symmetry Quilt Gallery
    • Dyeing Gallery >
      • Tie Dye Gallery
      • Shibori Gallery
    • Postcard Gallery
    • Fused Glass Gallery
    • Mosaic Gallery
    • Zentangle and Spirograph
  • Tutorials
    • Save My Bleeding Quilt
    • Quilting Tutorials >
      • The Gift Quilt Pattern
      • Keepsakes Quilt Pattern
      • Blocking a Quilt
      • Facing A Quilt Tutorial
      • Veterans Quilt Tutorials >
        • Allegiance Quilt Pattern
        • Gratitudes Quilt Pattern
        • Strength Quilt Pattern
        • Blockade Quilt Pattern
        • Redoubt Quilt Pattern
        • Regiment Quilt Pattern
        • Bars and Stripes Quilt Pattern
      • Rainbow Quilt Free Pattern
      • Binding a Quilt
    • Surface Design Tutorials >
      • Ice Dyeing tutorial
      • Snow Dyeing basics tutorial
      • Snow Dyeing Mandala
      • Sun Printing Tutorial
      • Lamp Printing Tutorial
      • Dyeing extra large fabrics
      • Hold the Retayne
      • Painted Shower Curtain Tutorial
      • Metallic Paint Effects on Fabric
      • Curing Metallic Fabric Paints
      • Zentange Pens
      • Leaf Printing Tutorial
      • Printing On Fabric
      • Life of MX Dye Concentrates
      • Testing Soda Ash in fabric dyeing
    • Placemat Tutorials >
      • Fat Quarter Placemat Tutorial
    • Basic Tutorials >
      • Custom Sewing Table
      • Liquid Spray Starch Recipe
    • Crafts and Small Projects >
      • Surgery Drain Bag Tutorial
      • Drawstring Bag Sewing Tutorial
      • Large Tote Tutorial
      • Big Fabric Flower Tutorial
      • The best potholders pattern
      • Notebook Cover Tutorial
      • Pillowcase tutorial
      • Wide Brim Sun Visor
      • Trash To Treasure Holiday Ornaments
      • Pet Bed From Scraps Tutorial
      • Framed Metal Quilt
      • Shooting Shirt Tutorial
      • Making Paper
      • Making Soap
      • Favorite Soap Reicpes
      • Bowl hot pad pattern
    • Longarm Quilting Tutorials >
      • The longarm machine does matter
      • Double Wavy Crosshatch
      • Wavy Crosshatch Longarm
      • Centering a Quilt back on a longarm
      • Quilting Snowball Blocks
      • Using Channel Locks
      • Adding backing on the longarm
    • Crochet and Other Tutorials >
      • Crochet Wheelchair Shawl
  • Contact